VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJA #3267 3320934
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 280934Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7199
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1656
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1198
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 2082
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0752
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS JAKARTA 003267 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL, IO 
SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/AP P.IPSEN 
JOINT STAFF FOR CLEMMONS 
NSC FOR E.PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL MARR KPKO PGOV PHUM ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIAN PEACEKEEPING -- LEBANON, DARFUR AND THE 
WORLD 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 2798 
     ¶B. JAKARTA 1785 
     ¶C. JAKARTA 228 
 
¶1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
¶2. (U) SUMMARY:  Indonesia is sending a fresh battalion of 
peacekeeping troops to the United Nations Forces in Lebanon 
(UNIFIL).  The 850-member battalion from the Indonesian Armed 
Forces (TNI) replaces the initial battalion deployed a year 
ago.  The Indonesian National Police (INP) is ready to 
contribute 145 stabilization police to Darfur once President 
Yudhyono approves the mission.  Indonesia remains a robust 
contributor to global peacekeeping missions and is expanding 
its total capacity to 2,000 troops worldwide.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. (U) TNI TRANCHE TWO TO LEBANON:  On November 12, the 
Indonesian military began deploying a new battalion of troops 
to Lebanon as part of Indonesia's contribution to UNIFIL. 
The 850-member unit, Garuda XXIII-B, will replace Garuda 
XXIII-A, which arrived in November 2006, and will be fully in 
place by December 1.  The new unit reportedly consists of 528 
army officers, 242 naval officers, 60 air force officers, 16 
military headquarters staff, one officer from the Department 
of Defense and three staff from the Department of Foreign 
Affairs. 
 
¶4. (U) IN PLACE BY DECEMBER 1:  The first batch of 284 troops 
departed Jakarta aboard a United Nations-charted Boeing 747 
on November 12.  The aircraft returned with Garuda XXIII-A 
soldiers who had completed their one-year tour of duty.   The 
remainder of the replacement troops are scheduled to depart 
Jakarta on November 28 and December 1. 
 
¶5. (SBU) INP READY FOR DARFUR:  The Indonesian National 
Police (INP) has also prepared a unit of trained 
stabilization police officers for deployment to the Darfur 
region of Sudan in December in support of UN operations there 
(ref b).  The INP is prepared to send about 145 officers in 
total, depending on need.  An advance team of five INP 
officers have been in Darfur for some time.  Since the 
ambush, murder and kidnapping of several African Union (AU) 
troops in September (ref a), the INP leadership and President 
Yudhyono have delayed a decision on deployment while they 
re-evaluate the situation. 
 
¶6. (SBU) WORLDWIDE ENGAGEMENT:  According to information from 
the Indonesian Department of Defense and Department of 
Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) and the United Nations, Indonesian 
TNI and/or INP personnel are currently in the ground in six 
countries:  Lebanon - 856 personnel, Congo - 190 personnel, 
Liberia - 3 personnel, Georgia - 4 personnel, Nepal - 6 
personnel, and Sudan - 16 personnel.  Those in Lebanon and 
Congo are UN Peacekeeping troops; the small contingents in 
other countries consist of observers.  The TNI in Congo are 
an engineering unit which is building roads and air runways. 
 
¶7. (SBU) U.S. ASSISTANCE BUILDS CAPACITY:  Peacekeeping has a 
long history in Indonesia, which has made it a hallmark of 
its non-aligned security posture.  That tradition has grown 
stronger under democracy, and President Yudhoyono recently 
approved a plan to build Indonesia's combined capacity of 
peacekeeping troops and stabilization police to 2,000 within 
the next several years.  Indonesia sees its PKO role in the 
UN context, but it welcomes assistance from the U.S. and 
other countries to build Indonesia's capacity in line with UN 
standards.  Indonesia now receives $5-7 million annually in 
military peacekeeping training under the U.S. Global Peace 
Operations Initiative (GPOI).  Indonesia is also sending a 
steady stream of trainees to the U.S.-supported Center for 
Excellence for Stabilization Police Units (CoESPU) in 
Vicenza, Italy (ref c). 
HUME