VZCZCXRO1747
OO RUEHJS
DE RUEHKL #1720/01 3480906
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 140906Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0384
RHMFIUU/COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNB/JIATF WEST IMMEDIATE
RHMFIUU/US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHBD/AMEMBASSY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN PRIORITY 0509
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 3182
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 1723
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA PRIORITY 2585
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE PRIORITY 4476
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA PRIORITY 0085
RHHMHAA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI PRIORITY
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 001720 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP, ISN, INL, S/CT 
DHS FOR CBP, ICE 
USCG FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAINING DIVISION 
PACOM FOR J5, JIATF-W, JIACG, DET 14 
BANGKOK FOR COMLEY 
SINGAPORE FOR KING, DARVAS, HIGHSMITH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL ID RP MY
SUBJECT: 1207 - MALAYSIA'S TRI-BORDER CAPACITY BUILDING 
PRIORITIES 
 
REF: A. EAP/COMLEY - USCG/MARKOWITZ E-MAIL 20 JUL 2007 
     ¶B. EAP/COMLEY - DHS/FUJIMURA E-MAIL 20 AUG 2007 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST:  Embassy Kuala Lumpur 
seeks to utilize USD 1 million in allocated FY 2007 Title 
1207 funding during FY 2008 to conduct civilian maritime law 
enforcement training and to enhance border control capability 
in the tri-border region of Malaysia's eastern state of 
Sabah.  The Title 1207 projects are part of the Southeast 
Asia Regional Strategic Initiative (RSI) and reflect a top 
Embassy priority as defined in its Mission Strategic Plan 
Goal No. 1 - sub-point 3 and as affirmed at the October 2007 
meeting of the Southeast Asia RSI Ambassadors.  FY 2007 1207 
funds have been transferred to the State Department.  To 
assure that they are disbursed to the appropriate USG 
implementing agency, Embassy Kuala Lumpur requests Department 
and action addressees to identify by 15 January 2008 USG 
interagency personnel with expertise in training management 
planning and course facilitation to develop, manage and 
execute planned Tri-border training.  END SUMMARY AND ACTION 
REQUEST. 
 
THE SOUTHEAST ASIA TRI-BORDER INITIATIVE 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  The Tri-border Title 1207 funding proposal 
submitted in FY 2007 was developed jointly by the State 
Department, PACOM, and USAID.  Given that the 1207 authority 
"is intended to improve U.S. capacity and interagency 
coordination for immediate reconstruction, security, and 
stabilization assistance," DHS and the U.S. Coast Guard were 
kept appraised of the proposal's progress throughout the 
summer of 2007 in order to plan for resource allocation in FY 
2008 (Refs A and B).  The Tri-border Initiative projects have 
been fully endorsed by the respective country teams and PACOM 
representatives.  They accord with and support MSP priority 
goals as well as priorities identified by RSI Ambassadors in 
Honolulu this fall. 
 
MALAYSIA'S PROJECTS 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  The two projects in the Tri-border proposal for 
Malaysia focus on strengthening civilian maritime law 
enforcement and border security in the tri-border region of 
Sabah.  They are the result of analysis conducted in early 
2007 by the subject matter expert exchange by the U.S. Coast 
Guard to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and 
by the interagency Border Control Assessment Initiative. 
Embassy Kuala Lumpur seeks to direct approximately 
three-fourths (USD 750,000) of its 1207 funds toward tailored 
maritime law enforcement training.  The remaining quarter 
(USD 250,000) should be directed toward border security 
training and the acquisition of limited equipment associated 
with the training. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The exact configuration of the training programs 
will be determined by Embassy Kuala Lumpur working with the 
training management planners in their engagement with 
Malaysian counterparts.  Analyses to date have identified a 
range of subject areas where capacity building is needed. 
These areas include, but are not limited to:  domain 
awareness, targeting and risk management, interdiction, use 
of force, evidence management, prosecution, chain of custody, 
information sharing/cueing, border enforcement, and 
fraudulent document detection.  Post has shared further 
information on the 1207 projects in Malaysia with USG 
agencies via separate communications. 
 
INTERAGENCY AND REGIONAL COOPERATION 
 
 
KUALA LUMP 00001720  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶5.  (U)  The success of the Tri-border 1207 funding proposal 
was due in significant measure to the extensive regional and 
interagency cooperation that went into its development. The 
project implementation phase we are now entering offers 
similar opportunities to succeed cooperatively.  For example, 
while the Tri-border proposal identifies the U.S. Coast Guard 
as the USG implementing agency for maritime law enforcement 
training, other civilian law enforcement expertise could 
supplement or complement a Coast Guard-led team. 
 
¶6.  (U)  As we utilize 1207 funding in FY 2008 to bring an 
immediate whole-of-government solution to the critical 
problem of transnational crime and terrorism in the 
tri-border region, we also encourage our host nations to 
follow suit.  Subject to Malaysian government priorities and 
concurrence, Embassy Kuala Lumpur will focus capacity 
building primarily on the MMEA but will also include customs 
and immigration personnel and, where possible, the Malaysian 
maritime police as well as trainees from Indonesia and the 
Philippines. 
 
THE WAY AHEAD 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Successfully and quickly implementing the 
Tri-border Initiative can demonstrate, at a critical time, 
interagency cooperation in addressing pressing bilateral and 
regional security needs.  Embassy Kuala Lumpur appreciates 
interagency USG support in bringing the necessary expertise 
to bear to meet the immediate maritime law enforcement and 
border security capacity building needs, which together we 
have identified.  In order to plan and initiate activities 
before the end of FY 08, Embassy Kuala Lumpur requests 
responses to this message by 15 January 2008 via e-mail to 
1207 POC Jason Donovan (via unclassified e-mail at: 
DonovanJ@state.gov, or classified e-mail at: 
DonovanJA@state.sgov.gov). 
 
KEITH