VZCZCXRO0634
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1009/01 1430738
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220738Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9075
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2002
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 8431
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH 0515
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 3211
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI 0602
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1863
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2537
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 2671
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001009 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, OES, PRM, SES-O 
STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID 
DEPT FOR EB/IFD/OMA 
AID/W FOR DCHA/FFP AND DCHA/OTI 
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA KLUU, ACONVERY, RTHAYER 
BANGKOK FOR DCHA/OFDA WBERGER AND RBARTON 
BANGKOK FOR REO OFFICE, USAID/RDMA 
PACOM FOR FPA 
TREASURY FOR IA-SETH SEARLS 
COMMERCE FOR 4430/ KELLY 
SINGAPORE FOR BAKER 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PHUM PREL PGOV KDEM ID BM
SUBJECT: ASEAN SECRETARIAT VIEWS ON BURMA CONFERENCE 
 
REF:  SECSTATE 53985 
 
¶1. Summary.   Post reviewed the Burma Donor Conference points with 
the ASEAN Secretariat.  According to Dr. Anish Kumar Roy, Director 
of the Bureau of Resource Development and point person on the ASEAN 
task force to coordinate aid to Burma, the May 25 pledging 
conference will focus on the immediate and long-term needs of the 
cyclone affected regions of Burma.  The Government of Burma (GOB) 
will provide an assessment of its needs based in part on the 
findings of the ASEAN Emergency Response Assessment Team (ERAT) and 
the ASEAN medical teams currently on the ground in Burma.  The ERAT 
team report to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers on May 19 in Singapore 
provided a solid overview of the needs in Burma, according to Roy. 
The ASEAN task force charged with coordinating relief and 
reconstruction efforts in Burma will meet on the margins of the 
pledging conference to finalize ASEAN's system for coordinating 
relief donations.  End Summary. 
 
Conference to Focus on Short- and Long-Term Needs 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2. (SBU) According to Dr. Anish Kumar Roy, Director of the ASEAN 
Secretariat's Bureau for Resources Development, the May 25 pledging 
conference will focus on the immediate and long-term needs of the 
cyclone affected regions of Burma.  ASEAN and the U.N. are 
sponsoring the conference, with Burma acting as host.  The 
conference will include a presentation by the GOB on the scale of 
the disaster and the immediate and long-term needs of the country in 
order to cope with the devastation, according to Roy.  The 
conference organizers will also solicit pledges from international 
donors to meet Burma's immediate and long-term needs. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The GOB will base its assessment in part on the findings of 
the ERAT and the ASEAN medical teams currently on the ground in 
Burma.  According to Roy, the ERAT team report to the ASEAN Foreign 
Ministers on May 19 provided a solid overview of the current needs 
in Burma.  (Note: a copy of the report is available at 
http://www.asean.org/21558.pdf.  End note.)  In response to the 
report and the May 19 discussion, the GOB agreed to accept a team of 
30 medical personnel from Thailand and 22 medical personnel from 
Laos to work in the affected areas.  Additional medical teams from 
Brunei, Singapore and the Philippines are on stand-by to enter the 
country and conduct similar assessments.  Roy emphasized the need 
for logistical support to the GOB, given the GOB's limited capacity 
to access the hardest-hit regions. 
 
ASEAN Task Force to Coordinate Aid 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Roy also noted that the ASEAN task force charged with 
coordinating relief and reconstruction efforts in Burma will meet on 
the margins of the pledging conference in order to finalize ASEAN's 
system for coordinating relief donations.  Roy will serve as the 
primary coordinator for donors on the task force.  He stated that 
the GOB had provided strong support for the task force at the May 19 
Ministers Meeting and that he expects the GOB to accept aid, 
including disaster relief personnel, if donors funnel donations 
through this mechanism.  Roy believes that part of the GOB 
resistance to receiving aid stems from their lack of capacity to 
coordinate and manage the process.  Although developments continue 
to change on a daily basis, Roy is optimistic that the GOB will 
begin to accept large quantities of aid and relief teams in the 
 
JAKARTA 00001009  002 OF 002 
 
 
coming weeks. 
 
HEFFERN