VZCZCXRO4003
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHVN #0052/01 0220642
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 220642Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0797
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2082
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0964
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0132
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0538
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1130
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0095
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 VIENTIANE 000052 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS; BANGKOK FOR USAID; PACOM ALSO FOR 
POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/21/2017 
TAGS: EAID ECIN ELTN ETRD LA PREL PTER SMIG
SUBJECT: LAO VIEWS ON ASEAN'S CEBU SUMMITS 
 
REF: A. MANILA 0179 
     ¶B. STATE 06177 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR PATRICIA M. HASLACH FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND ( 
D) 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: MFA ASEAN Department Deputy Director 
General Songkane told P/E Chief the main Lao priorities at 
the recent ASEAN Summits in Cebu were to reinforce support 
for a proposed rail extension into Laos and for Lao 
hydropower projects.  He welcomed a proposed third bridge 
across the Mekong River and admitted Laos needed help in 
developing its information technology.  Songkane saw an 
agreement for increased trade in services with China as 
leading to more tourism revenue for Laos.  While he deemed an 
ASEAN Declaration on migrant worker protection helpful, he 
noted Laos has also worked bilaterally with Thailand on these 
issues.  Songkane admitted, cautiously, that Burma could make 
more progress toward a constitution.  He said Deputy Foreign 
Minister Bounkeut would lead the Lao team to the ASEAN 
Charter task force which would begin meeting in February. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) P/E Chief met January 18 with MFA ASEAN Department 
Deputy Director General Songkane Luangmuninthone to deliver 
USG-proposed Economic Agenda for ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced 
Partnership Plan of Action (ref B).  DDG Songkane was 
accompanied by MFA ASEAN Department External Relations 
Division officers Thongmoon Phongphailath and Viengoudom 
Chanthavong.  They promised a response with comments by 
January 23 as requested. 
 
¶3. (U) P/E Chief also asked DDG Songkane for his views on the 
series of summit meetings held by ASEAN at Cebu in the 
Philippines in mid-January.  These included the ASEAN Summit, 
the ASEAN  3 (adding China, Japan, and the ROK), and the East 
Asia Summit (adding Australia, New Zealand, and India to the 
previous group). 
 
A Rail Link 
----------- 
¶4. (SBU) Songkane pointed to the ASEAN cooperation on 
preparations during the year before these summits as assuring 
that Laos was comfortable with the issues being discussed. 
The key focus for the Government of Laos (GOL) in Cebu was 
assuring that everyone involved understood the GOL's needs as 
Laos evolved from "land-locked" to "land-linked." 
 
¶5. (SBU) Specifically, the GOL wanted to push support for an 
extension of the proposed Kunming (China)-Singapore rail 
system to Laos -- extending the current plan for a branch to 
Vietnam to reach southern Laos.  Songkane said ASEAN supports 
the extension, and now the question is financial support for 
which Laos is looking to China, the ROK, and Japan. 
Apparently GOL officials are sufficiently comfortable with 
progress on this issue that Songkane was able to say the next 
step is for the Lao Ministry of Communications, Transport, 
Post, and Construction to begin to push these three countries 
for specific financial commitments. 
 
Energy 
------ 
¶6. (SBU) Songkane reviewed the great potential for hydropower 
in Laos and the GOL's push to be a source country for energy 
-- especially in this period of unstable oil supplies and 
prices.  Thus an important objective for Laos was to have the 
Cebu meetings reaffirm the principle of a strong role for 
hydropower in ASEAN planning.  Songkane was particularly 
pleased that energy was  highlighted in the Chairman's 
Statements of all three summits: with a reference to the 
ASEAN power grid by the ASEAN Summit, a specific point on 
energy security and renewable sources of energy by the ASEAN 
 3 group, and an entire section of the East Asia Summit 
statement on energy. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The East Asia Summit group also signed a Cebu 
Declaration on East Asian Energy Security which calls for 
increased reliance on hydropower as one of the ways to reduce 
dependence on fossil fuels.  Of course, Songkane noted, 
financing new dams is expensive, and Laos pressed other ASEAN 
Members and the Dialogue Partners for their support.  (He 
 
VIENTIANE 00000052  002 OF 003 
 
 
noted that Russia also has a growing role in hydropower 
development in Laos.) 
 
Other GOL Priorities: Another Bridge; IT 
---------------------------------------- 
¶8. (SBU) Narrowing the development gap between older ASEAN 
Members and the newer countries like Laos has been another 
priority for the GOL.  GOL officials see this as happening 
via the Initiative For ASEAN Integration and more human 
resources development.  Still, Songkane opined, Laos has to 
have better infrastructure, including more transportation 
sector development to achieve the desired "land-linked" 
status, so that human resource capacity building can take 
place.  He particularly welcomed China's decision to finance 
50% of a third bridge across the Mekong River (Laos' Bokeo 
Province to Chiangrai Province in Thailand). 
 
¶9. (SBU) Songkane also highlighted the need to develop Laos' 
information technology infrastructure.  He noted that the ROK 
and India are playing important roles in this sector. 
 
Trade In Services 
----------------- 
¶10. (SBU) The ASEAN Secretariat issued a statement on the 
signing of an ASEAN-China Agreement on Trade In Services. 
This agreement is designed to increase trade as well as 
investments in service sectors including business services 
(computer-related, real estate, market research, management 
consulting): construction and engineering; tourism and 
travel; transport and education; telecommunications; health 
and social services; recreation, cultural, and sporting 
services; environment; and energy.  Songkane said Laos needs 
investments in all areas.  He noted however that tourism is 
the sector most likely to receive a boost from this 
agreement, presumably from an increased flow of tourists from 
China to Laos. 
 
Migrant Workers 
--------------- 
¶11. (SBU) When asked about the ASEAN Declaration on the 
Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, 
Songkane said humane treatment for migrant workers is a major 
problem which requires the cooperation of both sending and 
receiving countries to resolve.  He thought the Declaration 
would help migrants to be able to live more humanely since 
each ASEAN Member had committed to improve the rights for 
migrant laborers.  However, he noted that financial resources 
and education would be necessary for countries to meet this 
commitment.  Referring specifically to Lao migrant workers in 
Thailand, Songkane pointed out their situation was different, 
for example, from household workers in Singapore who have 
suffered abuse reported in the media.  Nevertheless Lao 
workers do face some problems which the GOL tries to resolve 
both within an ASEAN framework and bilaterally. 
 
New ASEAN Charter Task Force 
---------------------------- 
¶12. (SBU) The media picked up a report of the recommendations 
of an Eminent Persons Group (EPG) regarding a new charter for 
ASEAN, including the possibility of expulsion for ASEAN 
Members violating the group's rules on either trade or human 
right.  Songkane said the EPG's proposals would now be 
reviewed by a high-level task force.  The Lao task force team 
would be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Bounkeut Sangsomsack 
and include 4-5 other officials.  Songkane expected the task 
force to start meeting in February so the new charter will be 
ready for approval at the next ASEAN Summit, scheduled for 
November/December 2007 in Singapore. 
 
Burma 
----- 
¶13. (SBU) P/E Chief and Songkane sparred over the GOL's close 
alignment with the Burmese government.  When asked about the 
ASEAN Summit Chair's statement, which said the group "called 
for the release of those placed under detention and for 
effective dialogue with all parties concerned," Songkane said 
the group basically would like more information from Burmese 
authorities.  In his personal view, the Burmese government's 
plan to develop a constitution through a national convention 
process was the correct approach, although he admitted more 
progress could be made. 
 
 
VIENTIANE 00000052  003 OF 003 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶14. (C) Clearly the GOL had very practical priorities at Cebu 
-- pushing financial support for its long-desired rail link 
and its role as an energy source for the region.  Lao 
officials were also prepared to look at broad areas of 
agreement also in very practical terms: the ASEAN-China Trade 
in Services Agreement would likely mean more Chinese tourists 
in Luang Prabang (or in the casinos in northern Laos). 
Unfortunately apparently missing from the list of priorities 
the Lao officials had developed for Cebu were issues of 
potential concern to a really responsible member of ASEAN -- 
such as counter-terrorism cooperation.  When asked about 
press reports of the EPG's recommendations that an ASEAN 
Charter allow expulsion of members, Songkane responded by 
citing the upcoming ASEAN Task Force as if to say that 
particularly dramatic proposals would be bought under control 
before the final draft is ready to be delivered to the 
Singapore Summit at the end of the year. 
 
HASLACH