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RR RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHGH RUEHPB RUEHVC
DE RUEHGP #2075/01 3231110
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191110Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4440
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2033
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1871
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4135
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 5754
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1374
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0120

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SINGAPORE 002075 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ETRD EINV ECON ASEAN SN BM
SUBJECT: BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT MEETINGS KICK OFF 
ASEAN-RELATED SUMMIT MEETINGS 
 
REF: SINGAPORE 2052 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  The ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, 
hosted by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), 
was held in Singapore November 16-18 as the curtain raiser 
for a cycle of ASEAN-related summit meetings that will 
continue through November 22 (see official summit program, 
para 10).  The main events include the 13th ASEAN Summit, 
which will feature the signing of the ASEAN charter (reftel), 
the ASEAN Plus 3 Summit (including ASEAN plus China, Japan 
and South Korea), and the East Asia Summit (including the 
ASEAN Plus 3 and India, Australia and New Zealand.  A key 
theme of eminent persons, ministers, and leaders who 
addressed the ASEAN-BAC was the need for the business 
community to press for ASEAN integration and provide feedback 
on next steps.  Officials acknowledged that integration has 
until now been a "top-down" process, and said governments 
must continue to educate the private sector and public to 
show the advantages of ASEAN integration.  In public remarks 
touching on Burma, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong said no one 
in Asia supports sanctions, while Singapore FM George Yeo 
said East Asian Summit Leaders, building around a core ASEAN 
position, should come out with a statement to support Gambari 
and the process of national reconciliation in Burma and call 
for a time-bound road to democracy.  End summary. 
 
Business and Investment Summit 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (U) The first event in the cycle of ASEAN-related summits 
in Singapore over a seven-day period concluding November 22 
was the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, hosted by the 
ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) on November 
16-18.  ASEAN-BAC is comprised of prominent business people 
from ASEAN member nations.  CDA and Emboffs attended various 
sessions of the summit along with business leaders and 
invited members of the diplomatic corps, academia and media. 
The summit featured sessions with representatives of: the 
Eminent Persons Group (EPG) that guided the drafting of 
ASEAN's new Charter; ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM); and 
ASEAN heads of government. 
 
¶3.  (U) Representing the EPG were former Malaysian Deputy 
Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam, former Indonesian Foreign 
Minister Ali Alatas, and ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng 
Yong.  Acknowledging ASEAN's reputation as a "talk shop" and 
that the Charter may be greeted with "cynicism," Musa 
contrasted ASEAN's history of with that of the European Union 
and argued that the draft Charter was the best that could be 
achieved given ASEAN members different stages of development. 
 He stressed that the Charter was a living document that 
would be strengthened over time and called on the business 
community to put pressure on governments to push further 
integration.  Describing himself as a "hard-liner," Musa 
admitted that he would have preferred stronger mechanisms to 
ensure "compliance" among members with their ASEAN 
commitments.  He applauded the ASEAN Chairman's strong 
September 27 statement on Burma and suggested the Charter 
could eventually be useful for encouraging positive change in 
Burma. 
 
¶4.  (U) Alatas also highlighted ASEAN's unique history, 
arguing that the organization had done much to build 
confidence and preserve peace among highly nationalistic and 
mutually suspicious post-colonial states.  The "ASEAN way," 
(i.e. consensus) had served ASEAN well in building a sense of 
unity among states that knew little about one another forty 
years ago.  Alatas warned, however, that unless the ASEAN 
developed "greater flexibility" in its decision-making, it 
would continue to be a "lowest common denominator" 
organization.  He said ASEAN was "saddled with" the Burma 
problem, whose resolution would take time, patience, and 
combination of "understanding and firmness." 
 
¶5.  (U) Ong said the Charter would help ASEAN integration, 
and said the organization would "do more" with further 
revisions.  In response to a question, he provided an upbeat 
assessment of prospects for ASEAN economic integration by the 
2015 target date, saying the 2010 tariff reduction program 
was almost complete.  He acknowledged that the newer ASEAN 
members were struggling to keep up tougher issues such as 
 
SINGAPORE 00002075  002 OF 003 
 
 
services.  Both Musa and Alatas described themselves as 
former cynics on economic integration, but said they are now 
more optimistic, in part because competition from China and 
India would force ASEAN to do more.  Musa flagged movement of 
people as particularly sensitive issue that leaders would 
have to handle with care. 
 
¶6. (U) In the Economic Minister's session, Singapore Minister 
for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang outlined ASEAN's 
blueprint for achieving the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 
2015, which will also be launched during the ASEAN summit 
meeting.  Lim described four "pillars" of the blueprint: free 
movement of goods, services, and investments, increased 
competition, more equitable development, and plans for 
plugging into the global trade systems.  He described the 
free movement issue as "well underway," and noted that 
tariffs should be eliminated by 2010.  Businesses now needed 
to help ASEAN governments identify non-tariff measures, he 
said.  ASEAN nations had already signed mutual recognition 
treaties related to engineering and nursing qualifications. 
Lim said he hoped agreements for other fields would soon be 
concluded.  ASEAN still faced challenges concerning 
competition policies and infrastructure, according to Lim. 
Regarding the Doha round, he told the audience he was 
disappointed that the U.S. business community had not 
"educated" Congress to its importance.  Businesses had done a 
much better job with past rounds, he said. 
 
¶7.  (U) Cambodia's Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said 
that competition policies and differing levels of development 
were large hurdles to overcome.  Cham opined that after forty 
years, ASEAN was still only loosely integrated and, as a 
result, stood to lose out to China and India.  ASEAN now 
needed a "rules-based community," and the blueprint was the 
document that would serve as a guide.  It was important not 
to forget less developed ASEAN nations, he said.  Cambodia 
and Laos could not compete with Singapore and Thailand's high 
technology sectors but still had much to offer in labor 
intensive industries.  Cham said Cambodia's primary advantage 
lay in its flexibility.  His country had no vested interests 
and could quickly adopt new systems and technologies. 
 
¶8.  (U) Indonesia's Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pergestu 
emphasized the challenge posed by India and China.  She 
stressed the importance of streamlining paperwork and 
increasing transparency in order improve ASEAN's efficiency. 
It was important for ASEAN governments to increase their 
domestic industries' level of confidence about opening their 
economies.  Domestic strategies to boost the ability of firms 
to compete on an international level were also necessary. 
She acknowledged that tax and customs officials needed to 
increase their levels of professionalism and asked the 
business representatives in the audience to refrain from 
paying bribes.  Pergestu said that Indonesia was identifying 
"islands of excellence" within its civil service, and using 
those offices as examples.  She agreed with Lim that Doha was 
not dead and said she was "reasonably optimistic" about the 
process.  Doha participants were now waiting for enough 
"convergence" to bring their ministers back to the table, 
possibly in the first quarter of 2008.  Looming U.S. 
protectionism was less of a threat to Indonesia than the 
overall state of the world economy, she said. 
 
Burma 
----- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In public remarks touching on Burma, Singapore PM 
Lee Hsien Loong said no one in Asia supports sanctions. 
Singapore FM George Yeo said the key will be for the ASEAN 
Leaders to arrive at a common position and then for East 
Asian Summit Leaders, building around the core ASEAN 
position, to come out with a statement to support Gambari and 
the process of national reconciliation in Burma and call for 
a time-bound road to democracy. 
 
Program for Summit Meetings 
--------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) Following is the program for the remaining 
ASEAN-related summit meetings: 
 
 
SINGAPORE 00002075  003 OF 003 
 
 
November 18 
 
--ASEAN Standing Committee Preparatory Meeting 
 
November 19 
 
--Presentation to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers on the ASEAN 
Charter by the High Level Task Force 
 
November 20 
 
--13th ASEAN Summit (Plenary and Retreat) 
--11th ASEAN Plus 3 Summit 
--11th ASEAN-China Summit 
 
November 21 
 
--11th ASEAN-Japan Summit 
--11th ASEAN-ROK Summit 
--6th ASEAN-India Summit 
--3rd East Asia Summit (Plenary and Retreat) 
 
November 22 
 
--Meeting between ASEAN Chair and EU Troika 
--ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit 
 
Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm 
SHIELDS