Vice Presidential Pool Reports of September 6, 2023

VP travel 1 - checking in/schedule

Selamat Siang dari Jakarta!

I am doubling up as your radio and print pooler for VP's first full day in Jakarta.

At 12.35 local press vans are heading to venue, no eyes on VP.

Her schedule for your convenience:

At 2:40 PM WIT, the Vice President will participate in a bilateral meeting with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia. This bilateral meeting at the Jakarta Convention Center will have a pool spray at the top.

At 3:00 PM WIT, the Vice President will attend the 11th U.S. – ASEAN Summit. The Vice President's opening remarks will be pooled press and open to pre-credentialed media.

At 7:30 PM WIT, the Vice President will attend the Gala Dinner on the occasion of the 43rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits hosted by President Widodo and Mrs. Iriana Joko Widodo of Indonesia. This Gala Dinner at Hutan Kota will be closed press.

VP travel 2 - about to bilat

Restricted pool is gathered in front of the bilateral room about to enter.

VP travel 3 - Widodo bilat and summit

VP and Widodo bilateral - she walked into the room at 3.07 pm and he walked in behind her.

US delegation at the left of the room, two rows of tables facing each other separated by an aisle of live ferns and orchids.

He spoke first in English, opened with condolences for Maui. She followed with opening remarks.

As we are ushered out around 3.15 pm, I shouted to VP whether a deal on Indonesian nickel is close, and to Widodo I shouted in Indonesian whether he is disappointed that Biden did not attend. Both ignored me.

Outside of the room, I was immediately surrounded by Indonesian security who told me that I am no longer welcomed because of my shouting. They wanted to kick me out to the media center and ban me from entering any other events. They blocked me, placed their hands on me, one female official leaned her body against me.

Various OVP officials tried to talk them out of it as we moved to the summit hall. It was tense.

In front of the summit hall, more security blocked me. One of them said in Indonesian, "Until Armageddon come I will not allow her in."

OVP officials kept talking, insisting that they allow me in, saying that VP will not enter the room without her pool. Finally an OVP official went inside the hall to fetch the US Ambassador to Indonesia Sung Kim.

As Kim approached, they finally allowed me in, after insisting that I promise to not shout anymore. Obviously this amounts to reneging on my journalistic integrity so at first I said I cannot promise anything and things got even more tense. I felt at that moment that I had no choice but to say OK because things got heated again and we were told that the VP was steps away.

Once we were situated, at a we 3.40 pm Harris began speaking at the summit after welcoming remarks by Widodo in Indonesian.

Moving to media center now. I will send quotes as soon as I am able.

VP travel 4 - audio & transcript bilat and summit

Audio of bilat and summit in box. Rough transcript by otter and copy of the audio file for those who can't access box attached. Note that in the summit Widodo spoke in Indonesian so top part of transcript will be weird. I can translate if anyone needs it.

Update on my banning: when we left the summit hall, an Indonesian officer who said he was from the foreign ministry's Diplomatic Security came and apologized to me. I spoke extensively to him about the American press tradition and shook hands.

I hit sent to quickly on the last note, without expressing gratitude to the OVP's team who stood by me and upheld pool's right to do our job to cover the VP. My appreciation to them. As an Indonesian American, I know which side of freedom of the press I very much prefer.

VP travel 5 - motorcade rolling

At 4.43 pm motorcade is rolling to RON. No eyes on VP.

VP travel 6 - motorcade at RON

Motorcade arrived at RON at 4.56 pm. No eyes on VP.

Uneventful ride, onlookers some with their cellphones out but I did not see anyone holding signs.

No more access for pool for today. The gala dinner is closed press. Note that the dinner will be held outside in a city park despite the Jakarta smog.

I will update with her movement when we are informed by her office.

VP travel 7 - gala dinner & bilat manifest

Per OVP, she has departed for the gala dinner.

Bilat manifest:

U.S. Delegation
- The Vice President
- Lorraine Voles, Chief of Staff
- Phil Gordon, National Security Advisor
- Ambassador Sung Kim, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia
- Ambassador Yohannes Abraham, U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN
- Daniel Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, U.S. State Department
- Rebecca Lissner, Principal National Security Advisor
- Henrietta Levin, Director for Southeast Asia, National Security Council

Indonesia Delegation:
- President Joko Widodo, Republic of Indonesia
- Retno Marsudi, Foreign Minister, Republic of Indonesia
- Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Republic Indonesia
- Luhut Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Republic Indonesia
- Pratikno, Minister of State Secretary, Republic Indonesia
- Erick Thohir, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), Republic of Indonesia
- Umar Hadi, Director General of America and Europe at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indonesia
- Ambassador Rosan Roeslani, Indonesia Ambassador to the U.S.

VP travel 8 - on Marcos bilat

Per VP's office in response to your pooler's request for details on the Marcos

The Marcos thing was a spontaneous short meeting on the margins of the US-ASEAN Summit today. It happened after the meeting and before VP moved to her car. There was no press component we just used the opportunity to have a "pull aside"

CORRECTION - VP travel 8 - on Marcos bilat

Apologies, my previous email got weirdly cut off:

Per VP's office in response to your pooler's request for details on what was described as a bilateral with President Marcos, Jr. in the WH readout.

The Marcos thing was a spontaneous short meeting on the margins of the US-ASEAN Summit today. It happened after the meeting and before VP moved to her car. There was no press component we just used the opportunity to have a "pull aside"

===

Pool was moving separately from the media center to our vans so we missed the whole thing.
The readout, ICYMI:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/09/06/readout-of-bilateral-meeting-between-the-vice-president-kamala-harris-of-the-united-states-and-president-ferdinand-marcos-jr-of-the-philippines/