US embassy cable - 05CANBERRA1471

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CANBERRA 001471 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/ANP AND S/CT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, ETRD, EINV, EAIR, MARR, MOPS, ECPS, AS, SN 
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE-AUSTRALIA MINISTERIAL HIGHLIGHTS DEPTH 
OF RELATIONSHIP, COMMENTS ON EAST ASIAN ARCHITECTURE 
 
REF: SINGAPORE 2580 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Woo Lee for reasons 1.4 b/d. 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  Australian and Singaporean foreign, 
defense, and trade ministers exchanged views on security 
issues, counterterrorism, East Asian regional architecture, 
defense cooperation, and economic integration during the 
fifth biennial Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial 
Committee (SAJMC) meeting August 22-23.  Both governments 
expressed concern about Indonesia, southern Thailand, and the 
Philippines as havens for terrorists.  GOA and GOS ministers 
believed the East Asia Summit was an important development, 
but that it should not be allowed to eclipse the ARF and 
APEC.  The ministers signed an extension of the Shoalwater 
Bay Training Area Agreement for continued access by Singapore 
armed forces, but disagreed on the future of an aviation 
access Open Skies Agreement.  Singapore suggested improving 
economic "triangulation" with the U.S. and both sides agreed 
on the importance of a continued strong U.S. presence in the 
Asia Pacific region.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (C) The fifth Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial 
Committee (SAJMC) meeting, hosted by the GOA in Perth August 
22-23, covered a wide range of security issues.  Australian 
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, Trade Minister Mark Vaile, 
and Defense Minister Robert Hill hosted Singaporean Foreign 
Minister George Yong-Boon Yeo, Trade and Industry Minister 
Lim Hng Kiang, and Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean. 
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Malaysia, 
Brunei, and Singapore Director Graeme Lade told us on August 
29 that the GOA's relationship with Singapore formed one of 
its two strongest defense links in the region, along with 
Malaysia (under the Five Power Defense Arrangements). 
Singapore and Australia cooperated closely on 
counterterrorism and they used the ministerial to share 
assessments of evolving terrorist and transnational crime 
threats in the region.  They also discussed their strong 
bilateral economic relationship and highlighted the success 
of the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). 
Australian ministers accepted the Singapore government's 
offer to host the sixth SAJMC in Singapore in 2007. 
 
CT DISCUSSIONS 
-------------- 
3.  (C) Australia and Singapore discussed regional terrorism 
challenges, including instability in Indonesia, southern 
Thailand, and the Philippines.  Downer and Yeo emphasized in 
a joint press conference the importance of supporting 
moderate Muslim leaders to combat extremism.  They also 
stressed the need to increase international cooperation on 
maritime security to prevent terrorism and transnational 
crime in the region.  The ministers welcomed recent maritime 
security initiatives such as the Trilateral Foreign 
Ministers' Meeting of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore in 
Batam and the Defense Chiefs' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur August 
1-2.  (Note:  Asked why Australia did not have a 
counterterrorism memorandum of understanding (CT MOU) with 
Singapore, as it did with eleven other countries, Lade 
responded that both parties felt existing cooperation was 
good enough and that there was no need for an MOU, which was 
usually a "symbolic" gesture, to formalize the relationship. 
End Note.) 
 
4.  (C) According to Lade, the Singaporeans told the 
Australian ministers that Indonesian President Yudhoyono was 
committed to invigorating counterterrorism (CT) efforts, but 
there were limitations for what he could achieve.  One 
problem was that the state intelligence agency BIN was not 
very effective.  FM Downer reiterated his concern about Abu 
Bakar Ba'asyir's sentence reduction and stated that Yudhoyono 
seemed "surprised himself" at the decision.  GOS officials 
were more skeptical, stating Yudhoyono must have known about 
the decision beforehand. 
 
5.  (C) GOA and GOS officials ministers agreed that southern 
Thailand was an area "wide open" for Islamic extremists and 
lamented that the Philippines had "a long way to go" in 
grappling with domestic terrorism.  The Singaporeans also 
highlighted Bangladesh and Cambodia as two countries to watch 
more closely -- their local governments were ill-equipped to 
combat terrorism and terrorists might turn to these locations 
for safe haven. 
 
EAS & ASEAN 
----------- 
6.  (C) Australian ministers welcomed the Singapore 
government's support for Australian participation in the 
inaugural East Asia Summit (EAS) to be held in Kuala Lumpur 
in December.  According to Lade, GOA and GOS ministers agreed 
that the EAS should be a cohesive regional body not dominated 
by China or any other power.  FM Downer stated in the SAJMC 
August 23 press conference that Australia was "delighted" to 
participate in the EAS and that the EAS had the potential to 
oversee an "emerging East Asia community" and could be 
"enormously important" to the region over the next ten or 
twenty years.  While both sides saw the EAS as a key 
development in regional architecture, they recognized the 
importance of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) as the 
pre-eminent regional security forum and reaffirmed their 
commitment to ensuring that the ARF continued to develop as 
an effective and responsive mechanism for addressing regional 
security challenges.  Australia's hosting of APEC in 2007, 
followed by Singapore's hosting in 2009, would also provide 
an important opportunity for the two to work together to 
strengthen and shape APEC as a key element of regional 
architecture, the two sides agreed. 
7.  (C) Singaporean ministers thought it best for ASEAN 
countries to maintain leadership of the EAS because ASEAN was 
perceived as "less threatening."  Singapore will chair ASEAN 
in two years and said it would likely host the second EAS 
during its chairmanship.  Australia and Singapore also agreed 
that it would be inappropriate to have Russia as an EAS 
member, especially given that the U.S. and the EU were not 
participants.  The GOS asked Canberra to convey this view to 
other ASEAN nations. 
 
EAST ASIAN RELATIONS 
-------------------- 
8.  (C) Lade told us that Singaporean ministers lamented 
renewed nationalist sentiment in Japan that served to 
heighten tension between Japan and its neighbors.  The GOS 
observed, however, that this development did have the 
positive effect of moving Japan closer to the U.S.  Lade said 
GOS officials believed a certain amount of tension between 
China and Japan was good to "keep (both) honest."  Australian 
and Singaporean ministers also agreed on the importance for 
stability and prosperity of a continuing strong U.S. presence 
in the region. 
 
DEFENSE RELATIONSHIP: SHOALWATER BAY AGREEMENT EXTENDED 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
9.  (U) GOS and GOA ministers signed an extension of the 
Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) Agreement through 2009. 
The SWBTA allows 6,500 Singaporean troops to train annually 
in the high-tech facility, providing valuable assistance to 
the Singapore Armed Forces.  (Note:  Australian Defense 
Forces also train Singaporean pilots at Pearce RAAF Base in 
Western Australia.)  Australia and Singapore reaffirmed the 
importance and relevance of the Five Power Defense 
Arrangements to regional security, and Singapore agreed to 
host the Regional Special Forces Conference in 2005. 
 
ECONOMIC RELATIONS POSITIVE BUT DIVERGENCE ON OPEN SKIES 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
10.  (U) Australian and Singaporean ministers noted the 
success of the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement 
(SAFTA) in promoting closer economic integration and were 
pleased with the outcomes of the first SAFTA Ministerial 
review in July 2004.  Since the implementation of SAFTA in 
July 2003, over 450 Australian companies have, with 
Austrade's assistance, won business in Singapore to a total 
exports sale value of A$319.7 million (US$239.8 million).  Of 
these companies, 208 were new exporters.  In 2004, total 
trade reached a new high of A$14.4 billion (US$10.8 billion), 
up from A$12.4 billion (US$9.3 billion) in 2003.  The next 
Ministerial review is scheduled to take place in mid-2006. 
 
11.  (C) Singaporean officials also discussed the possibility 
of "triangulation" with Australia and the U.S., Lade said, to 
obtain further trade and investment benefits from neighboring 
countries.  Lade noted that Singapore might approach the U.S. 
on its own to propose an idea for deeper economic cooperation 
among the three countries. 
 
12.  (C) GOA and GOS officials encountered a stumbling block 
on the issue of an Open Skies Air Services Agreement.  Lade 
told us that Singapore wanted access to Australia's 
trans-Pacific route as well as domestic routes, but it was 
unlikely to achieve this goal in the near future.  The GOA 
said it could not make a commitment on the Open Skies 
Agreement until its major aviation review was complete, which 
could take up to several additional months.  The Singaporean 
Transport Minister, Yeo Cheow Tong, visited Australia prior 
to the SAJMC, more likely intending to put pressure on the 
Australians to conclude an Open Skies Agreement than to visit 
Australia's new Transport Minister as he had claimed, 
according to Lade.  Since Singapore sees its role as a 
transportation hub as critical to its economic growth, Open 
Skies remained the biggest item of contention in the 
bilateral relationship, Lade said.  With the Australian 
telecommunications industry being similarly blocked by the 
Singaporean government, there was likely to be much more 
discussion and compromise before either issues could move 
forward. 
 
STANTON