VZCZCXYZ0015
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJA #3264/01 3320621
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280621Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7196
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1196
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 8251
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1469
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1654
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 2080
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0135
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 003264 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
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. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PHUM PREL PGOV KDEM ID BM
SUBJECT: ASEAN SECRETARIAT'S POST-SUMMIT READOUT 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  In an ASEAN Summit debrief, Secretariat officials 
stated that the member countries were frustrated that the press 
focused too much on ASEAN's handling of Burma, taking attention away 
from the historic importance of the Charter signing.  Dhannan 
Sunoto, Director of the Secretariat's Bureau of External Affairs, 
maintained however that the member countries acted appropriately in 
letting Burma participate in the Summit and sign the Charter, and 
that they were maintaining pressure on their fellow member while 
keeping it engaged.  Sunoto continued to predict that not all member 
countries would ratify the Charter by next year's Summit deadline, 
and worried that member country governments would "play politics" 
over issues such as Burma, using the Charter as a bargaining chip. 
He did not worry, though, that the situation in Burma would impede 
economic integration efforts or trade negotiations with dialogue 
partners because of ASEAN's ability to negotiate deals among and as 
a sub-group of its members ("ASEAN Minus X").  In a brief readout of 
the ASEAN-EU Summit, which followed the ASEAN Summit itself, Sunoto 
expressed some frustration that the EU did not send appropriate 
representation.  End Summary. 
 
BURMA SITUATION OVERSHADOWS IMPORTANT MILESTONE 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Sunoto expressed frustration on behalf of the Secretariat 
and member countries that the media focused more on ASEAN's handling 
of Burma rather than the historic importance of the charter signing. 
 He said the coverage of the Summit was especially disappointing for 
Singapore, who, as the host, wanted to highlight the Charter and the 
planned ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). 
 
¶3. (SBU) Sunoto continued that ASEAN acted appropriately in allowing 
Burma to sign the Charter.  Burma had to be included in order to 
maintain a sense of solidarity with ASEAN.  The reason that ASEAN 
even exists, he explained, is that it maintains a core principle of 
non-interference in member countries' domestic affairs.  Sunoto 
acknowledged that in order for the organization to implement the 
Charter principles, this policy would have to change, but that this 
would have to happen gradually. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Sunoto pointed out that member countries were already 
starting to slowly move away from the non-interference principle, 
citing their public condemnation of the Burmese government's actions 
to date.  He also felt that the junta's current cooperation with the 
UN was partly the result of ASEAN pressure.  Member countries have 
started to realize that, although they do not want to interfere in 
Burma's domestic affairs, Burma's domestic affairs are starting to 
interfere with ASEAN, and the organization needs to address that 
fact. 
 
ASEAN CHARTER FACES A ROUGH RATIFICATION PROCESS 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Sunoto continued to predict that not all member countries 
will be able to ratify the Charter by next year's Summit.  He said 
that member countries that have separate executive and legislative 
branches, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, could have a more 
difficult time ratifying the Charter, as these legislatures have not 
had as much input into its contents as parliamentary governments in 
countries such as Thailand.  Sunoto also expressed disappointment in 
Philippine President Arroyo, who recently said that her country 
would not ratify the Charter unless Burma demonstrates concrete 
steps towards democracy.  He felt that she, and potentially other 
member country leaders, would "play politics" using the Charter as a 
bargaining chip to keep their constituents happy. 
 
ASEAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION WILL PROCEED 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Sunoto did not worry that the situation in Burma or the 
economic disparity of ASEAN's members would hinder the group's 
efforts towards economic integration or complicate its ability to 
negotiate trade agreements with dialogue partners.  He said that 
ASEAN can negotiate deals among or as a sub-group of its members 
("ASEAN Minus X").  ASEAN can exclude countries such as Burma from 
agreements with outside entities who may object to its inclusion, 
such as the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the European 
Union.  Similarly, ASEAN can take steps towards economic integration 
among the six or seven countries that are able to proceed 
immediately.  Poorer members, such as Burma and Cambodia, can 
integrate later when they are ready.  Once these excluded countries 
see the benefits that the more advanced members derive from economic 
integration or FTAs with dialogue partners, Sunoto explained, they 
will likely want to speed up reforms so that they too can 
participate and benefit. 
 
ASEAN-EU SUMMIT: REPRESENTATIONAL ISSUES 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) In a brief readout of the ASEAN-EU Summit, which followed 
the ASEAN Summit itself, Sunoto expressed some frustration that the 
EU did not send appropriate representation. As an example he pointed 
out that an appropriate representative of the next EU Presidency, 
Slovenia, did not attend the Summit as expected.  Sunoto said that 
this is a common occurrence, where ASEAN frequently sends higher 
level representatives to meetings with dialogue partners, but that 
the partners do not reciprocate.  Member countries place a high 
importance on protocol and are insulted when they perceive that 
partners do not show the same regard for interactions with ASEAN. 
 
 
 
HUME