VZCZCXRO6408
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #2817 2770906
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040906Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6583
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0919
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1323
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1849
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0128
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS JAKARTA 002817 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR KATZ AND BROOKS 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/RSP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS 
DEPT FOR EB/IFD/OMA 
DEPT ALSO FOR OES/IET AND OES/ETC/TED 
TREASURY FOR IA-SETH SEARLS 
COMMERCE FOR 4430/[GOLIKE] 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PHUM PREL PGOV KDEM ID BM
SUBJECT: ASEAN FAVORS ENGAGEMENT WITH BURMA, MAY DELAY BURMA'S 
CHARTER SIGNATURE 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. ASEAN Secretariat staff express hope that momentum 
for stronger ASEAN condemnation of Burmese repression will continue 
to build, but also maintain that an increase in economic engagement 
is the best way to affect political change in Burma.  ASEAN may 
delay Burma's signing of the ASEAN Charter.  However, Secretariat 
staff do not believe this delay will impact ASEAN decision making or 
operations going forward.  End Summary. 
 
Secretariat Asserts Engagement with Burma 
 
SIPDIS 
Best Way Forward 
---------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In recent discussions with Post, ASEAN Secretariat staff 
expressed hope that momentum for stronger ASEAN condemnation of 
Burmese repression would continue to build, but also maintained that 
an increase in economic engagement is the best way to affect 
political change in Burma. Secretariat officials also indicated that 
ASEAN is currently debating the appropriateness of Burma signing the 
ASEAN Charter in Singapore next month.  Some member countries have 
argued that having Burma sign the Charter will provide ASEAN with a 
stronger mechanism to force change in the current Burmese regime. 
However, given that the Charter will not contain a significant 
enforcement mechanism or requirement for expulsion in the face of 
human rights abuses, the Secretariat believes member countries will 
merely delay Burma's signing of the document until an unspecified 
date. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Secretariat asserted that a delay in Burma's signing 
will not have a significant impact on ASEAN decision making going 
forward.  ASEAN does not have legally binding agreements that will 
be impacted Burma's exclusion from the ASEAN Charter.  Secretariat 
officials also noted that the current Charter draft is unlikely to 
contain a strong dispute settlement mechanism or general compliance 
rules for all ASEAN agreements because of difficulty in reaching 
political consensus on these items.  Instead, ASEAN plans to 
negotiate compliance and enforcement issues on an 
agreement-by-agreement basis.  Secretariat officials also noted that 
ASEAN plans to introduce legally binding agreements in the economic 
realm over the next few years to facilitate integration.  However, 
they conceded that ASEAN would likely avoid pushing for binding 
political agreements until all member countries understand and 
accepted the agreement enforcement mechanism. 
 
HEFFERN