VZCZCXRO6878
PP RUEHBZ RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1563/01 1571021
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061021Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4970
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHSL/AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA PRIORITY 0020
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0787
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1007
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE PRIORITY 6034
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 1518
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001563 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR ISN/CPI FOR WUCHTE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PARM PREL UNSC KNNP OSCE KPAO AORC ID
SUBJECT: IMPLEMENTATION OF UNSCR 1540 IN SOUTHEAST 
ASIA-ASEAN 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  A two-day regional consultative workshop, 
held in Jakarta on May 28-29 for countries of the Association 
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), considered ways in which 
regional and other states, as well as relevant international 
organizations, could cooperate in the implementation of 
United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 
within Southeast Asia.  The workshop was jointly organized by 
the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in 
Jakarta, the Institute for International Relations (IRIS) in 
Geneva, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (which 
provided funding) and the Indonesian Department of Foreign 
Affairs.  Despite Indonesia's co-sponsorship of the workshop, 
its chief representative questioned the basis for UNSCR 1540, 
in effect declining to support its implementation.  Officials 
from the United States, France and Australia provided input 
for discussion in the ASEAN Regional Forum toward effecting 
greater transparency among the committee, regional member 
states and prospective donors in responding to assistance 
requests.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Workshop organizers accomplished the overarching goals 
of the seminar and demonstrated the value of sub-regional 
outreach and the partnership of nongovernmental organizations 
(NGOs) in furthering 1540 implementation.  The French 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized the workshop in 
collaboration with Indonesia's CSIS and the Geneva-based 
Institute for International Relations (IRIS).  Major themes 
included:  1) identifying and understanding the precise needs 
of different states in the ASEAN region with respect to 
nonproliferation, 2) identifying common problems and 
solutions related to implementation of the resolution in 
ASEAN and 3) developing a common perspective on challenges 
concerning assistance.  A final session suggested possible 
ways ahead. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Speeches by the French Ambassador and the Slovak 
Ambassador to Indonesia (speaking on behalf of the New York 
Committee Chair) focused on the significance of regional and 
sub-regional outreach to gather further momentum.  Several 
NGOs interested in funding implementation expressed strong 
support for the objectives of the seminar.  The participation 
of the U.S. 1540 Coordinator explained the capabilities of 
the 1540 committee and the potential role of  regional 
organizations.  Since no committee representative was able to 
travel to the seminar, participating U.S. and French 
officials offered a committee perspective. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Throughout the workshop, French MFA and MOD 
officials seemed surprised by the lack of progress in the 
work of the committee in better informing regional member 
states of the opportunities possible through UNSCR 1540. 
(Note:  Despite the holding of several outreach events in 
2006, the French UN mission apparently has only recently 
engaged with Paris on UNSCR 1540.  Although endorsing 1540 
objectives, France appears to have viewed implementation of 
UNSCR 1540 as a task primarily for New York missions.)  In 
private discussions on the margins of the conference, French 
officials said their involvement in organizing the workshop 
had helped raise French awareness of the need to reinvigorate 
the committee and reach decisions. 
 
INDONESIA QUESTIONS THE RESOLUTION ITSELF 
 
¶5. (SBU) Desra Percaya, Director for International Security 
and Disarmament in the Indonesian Department of Foreign 
Affairs, stated Indonesia's reservations regarding UNSCR 
1540's adoption.  Percaya asserted that the resolution lacked 
legitimacy, that ASEAN states should not be obligated to go 
further than submitting a report, and that the lack of 
disarmament progress by major powers made implementation of 
1540 an unjust burden.  Percaya proposed replacing UNSCR 1540 
with a multilateral treaty to avoid what he deemed 
"legislating implementation through a Security Council 
resolution."  Both the U.S. and French representatives 
countered with the prevailing view that UNSCR 1540 should be 
seen as an opportunity and not a constraint. 
 
¶6. (SBU) In a bilateral meeting with Deputy Director for 
Disarmament Andy Rachmianto before the workshop, U.S. 1540 
Coordinator explained U.S. implementation strategy, shared a 
copy of the overview of U.S. assistance programs and 
 
JAKARTA 00001563  002 OF 002 
 
 
discussed the value of regional organizations.  Coordinator 
appealed for Indonesian leadership on the Security Council 
1540 Committee to facilitate implementation of provisions and 
agreement of provisions for technical assistance. 
Coordinator stressed such leadership would encourage nations 
in need of capacity building to seek assistance through 
concrete requests.  Rachmianto responded that Indonesia 
remained skeptical of the basis for UNSCR 1540 because it 
imposed obligations without the full consent of all member 
states.  Indonesia therefore preferred to work through 
existing multilateral frameworks and was reluctant to develop 
a separate implementation plan.  When pressed to join the 
Proliferation Security Initiative, Rachmianto said the 
Indonesian government was facing new challenges from the 
legislature (DPR) on foreign policy issues, to the point that 
the Indonesian President had been requested to explain 
Indonesia's support for Iran sanctions resolution UNSCR 1747. 
 In this context, the optics of joining PSI currently were 
unfavorable. 
 
THE WAY AHEAD 
 
¶7. (U) The following recommendations were put forward by 
participants.  The comments are in no order of priority and 
represent a general overview of outcomes: 
 
-- Although many programs are under way in the region, the 
committee needs to increase its transparency and dialogue 
with each nation toward providing technical assistance. 
 
-- Understanding the legal requirements of UNSCR 1540 is 
challenging to the countries of the region, and most admitted 
they had no capacity. 
 
-- Action plans or road maps are a key to getting states to 
make specific assistance requests which can be acted upon. 
Privately, however, some states say they lack the wherewithal 
to organize their interagency. 
 
-- UNSCR 1540 can become the standard from which states view 
an approach to address all aspects of the nonproliferation 
spectrum.  Outreach on UNSCR 1540 therefore remains vital. 
 
-- The UN 1540 website would better facilitate the sharing of 
information if it were kept up to date and more user-friendly. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶8. (SBU) Indonesia's resistance on UNSCR 1540 draws into 
question the objective of endorsement by and implementation 
through the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).  Given Indonesia's 
position, ASEAN nations will likely not reach a common 
position without strong countervailing input from other 
non-ASEAN ARF members such as China, Japan and Korea. 
HEFFERN