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FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 003239 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/PD, EAP/RSP 
NSC FOR E.PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ASEAN XC BM ID
SUBJECT: ASEAN SUMMIT/INDONESIA -- A MIXED REACTION 
 
REF: A. SINGAPORE 2085 
     ¶B. SINGAPORE 2092 
     ¶C. SINGAPORE 2093 
     ¶D. JAKARTA 3201 
 
JAKARTA 00003239  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b-d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  Indonesian reaction to the recent ASEAN 
Summit meetings in Singapore was generally positive, 
particularly in regard to the Charter and the Economic 
Blueprint.  Reaction--particularly from legislators and the 
press--regarding the GOI's handling of Burma has been largely 
critical, however.  President Yudhoyono has called for 
Indonesia's ratification of the Charter within a year.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) POSITIVE ON CHARTER:  Indonesian government reaction 
to the recent ASEAN Summit meetings was positive.  Gudadi 
Sasongko in the Department of Foreign Affair's Directorate 
for East Asia and Pacific Affairs told DepPol/C that 
Indonesia considered the long-term interests represented by 
the Charter to be more important than the short-term 
situation in Burma (the GOI received domestic flak re its 
Burma positioning -- see below).  The Charter was "a landmark 
agreement" that would provide a legal basis for ASEAN 
policies and actions, thereby moving ASEAN beyond mere 
consensus.  It provided a number of important tools for the 
21st century, including a Code of Honor that would serve as a 
standard for measuring Burma's progress on human rights and 
democracy, for example. 
 
¶3. (C) ECONOMIC BLUEPRINT:  GOI reaction on the economic side 
also was basically positive.  Mahendra Siregar, Deputy 
Minister for Economic and Regional Cooperation at the 
Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs, told DepEcon/C 
that the GOI was generally pleased with the agreed on 
Economic Blueprint.  It provided the structure for measuring 
current progress and a plan of action.  It would improve the 
ASEAN dispute resolution mechanism, while the Charter would 
facilitate better decision-making on economic issues.  The 
challenge for Indonesia would be national implementation of 
the Blueprint's agenda.  As the nation with the largest ASEAN 
population and geographic expanse, Indonesia needed to be a 
leader and make the Blueprint work for the benefit of its 
people. 
 
¶4. (C) NEXT STEP -- RATIFY CHARTER:  President Yudhoyono 
urged Indonesia to ratify the ASEAN Charter within a year. 
Noting that the Charter provided inter alia for 
interparliamentary cooperation, Yudhoyono said the DPR (the 
national legislature) "understood" the importance of the 
Charter and his administration would carefully review the 
Charter with the DPR in the next several weeks and months. 
Presidential spokesman Dino Djalal said the Charter would 
make ASEAN "a better, more adaptive, dynamic organization 
with a faster pace."  Theo Sambuaga, Chair of the DPR's 
Commission on Foreign and Security Affairs, told Pol/C that 
he thought the legislature would "ultimately support" the 
Charter, a document which he felt was positive "for regional 
integration." 
 
¶5. (C) BURMA PROBLEMATIC:  The government received criticism 
for its positioning re Burma.  Sambuaga told Pol/C that 
Indonesia had not been "strong enough" on the issue of Burma. 
 Sambuaga characterized a media photograph of President 
Yudhoyono shaking hands with Burmese Prime Minister Thein 
Sein and smiling as "inappropriate," adding that Indonesia's 
failure to take a harder line made Indonesia look weak. 
Other legislators lashed out at the Indonesian government, 
including members of the Myanmar Caucus, which announced that 
"the government has failed the people of Myanmar by not 
pushing hard enough for democratic rights there." 
 
¶6. (U) MEDIA MIXED:  Press commentary generally welcomed the 
Charter as for the first time giving ASEAN a legal basis that 
makes regional integration possible.  The English-language 
daily "Jakarta Post" said Indonesia had no choice but to 
ratify the Charter, despite what it characterized as its 
"watered-down" provisions.  The paper questioned the 
 
JAKARTA 00003239  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Charter's "rigid" adherence to the principle of 
non-interference and noted that, even with the Charter, 
consensus still will remain the key ASEAN mode for 
decision-making.  The national daily "Kompas" suggested in a 
positive comment that now ASEAN would by 2008 race to remove 
trans-border economic barriers. 
 
¶7. (U) There was also criticism re Burma.  "Kompas" said 
ASEAN's failure to take a firm stance on Burma had made the 
Charter's ratification and implementation more complicated 
and would be a brake on ASEAN's aspirations to emulate the 
European Union.  The national daily "Media Indonesia" said 
the Charter's lofty ideals were contradicted by the 
willingness of ASEAN leaders to countenance Burma's behavior. 
 The Jakarta Post published several articles blasting what 
they saw as ASEAN's and the Indonesian government's 
"weakness" in confronting the Burmese regime in a direct 
manner. 
 
HEFFERN