Wong Iseng's List: Wikileaks-id

• IN ASIA, VATICAN PRIORITIES WILL REMAIN FOCUSED ON CHINA, TAIWAN, VIETNAM AND INDONESIA/EAST TIMOR.
• THIS CABLE IDENTIFIES AREAS IN WHICH THE U.S. AND THE VATICAN SHARE INTERESTS, AND AREAS IN WHICH THERE ARE POLICY DIFFERENCES.
• THE VATICAN AND THE U.S. SHARE INTERESTS IN MANY OF THE SAME COUNTRIES (E.G. INDONESIA, CHINA, TAIWAN, VIETNAM), BUT NOT ALWAYS FOR THE SAME REASONS. IN ADDITION TO THE FORMAL CHURCH NETWORK NUMEROUS, OFTEN SEMI-AUTONOMOUS, CATHOLIC MISSIONARY ORGANIZATIONS
• HE VATICAN AND ITS CONSTITUENT EPISCOPATES ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN DIALOGUES WITH POLITICALLY POWERFUL MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX FAITHS. THE RESULTS OF THESE DIALOGUES WILL IMPACT PROSPECTS FOR DEMOCRACY, STABILITY, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED STATES.
• EAST TIMOR IS POISED TO BECOME THE SECOND CATHOLIC COUNTRY IN ASIA (THE OTHER IS THE PHILIPPINES). THE VATICAN, THROUGH ITS BISHOPS, HAS BEEN DEEPLY INVOLVED IN RECONCILIATION EFFORTS FOR YEARS.
• N OTHER PARTS OF INDONESIA WRACKED BY SECTARIAN VIOLENCE, THE CATHOLIC PRESENCE IS LESS PRONOUNCED, BUT CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE SITUATION.

4 more annotations...

• Alluding to his own outreach to the moderate Muslim world, Musharraf noted there was space for non-Arab nations to play a role on Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, and that Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia had agreed to form a united voice to help promote peace in the region.

• When you look at the 2020/20 plan by the GON you see that Nigeria needs to grow by 14 percent a year to LAGOS 00000075 004 OF 005 be at the current level of Indonesia Fawthrop asserted. That is using today’s figures, which does not take into account Indonesia’s growth Kramer added.

• Indonesia: Tin Mine and Plant Straits of Malacca

• Older ASEAN member countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, favor a hard-line approach. Newer ASEAN members, such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, support a more moderate stance towards Burma.

• More and more experts see the utility of establishing an Asia-Pacific G-8, to include China, Japan, and the United States plus India, Australia, Indonesia, South Korea and Russia;

• ¶12. (S//NF) EAP - Indonesia - EAC Jakarta convened October 30 to discuss the security implications of the anticipated execution of the Bali bombers. The Government of Indonesia (GoI) recently announced they would be executed during the first week of November. Rumors are circulating around Jakarta that retaliatory attacks and demonstrations by those who support the bombers are possible. However, there is no specific or credible information regarding the planning of these types of attacks. One report mentioned possible suicide bomber attacks on shopping malls in Jakarta, specifically the Kelapa Gading mall in northern Jakarta, but without details. The U.S. Embassy assesses the likelihood of a terrorist attack conducted against U.S. or other Western interests in direct response to the executions is low. (Appendix source 3)

• ¶19. (S) Buchris referenced a press report from Secretary  Clinton's trip to Jakarta in which she said the United States  would consider providing a defense umbrella for moderate Arab  countries in the Middle East should Iran acquire a nuclear  weapon. Buchris argued that such a statement already  conceded the idea of a nuclear-armed Iran. MFA Deputy  Director General for Strategic Affairs Alon Bar also raised  the Secretary's Jakarta statement; A/S Shapiro stated that  the Secretary's comments did not indicate a new policy  approach, but were meant as a deterrent factor toward Iran's  nuclear weapons ambitions -- not as a concession -- and that  journalists covering the trip attempted to make more out of  the statement than was intended.