Gay Alcorn, Washington – The new Bush administration wants Australia to take the lead in dealing with Indonesia's problems of violence and political instability, according to incoming secretary of state Colin Powell.
The former general's remarks about the importance of the Australia-US alliance delighted Australian officials in Washington, but they are likely to anger Indonesia, which already resents Australia's role in the region.
Australian officials interpreted Mr Powell's comments before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as meaning the Bush administration would rely on Australian advice and intelligence about Indonesia, rather than indicating any US ignorance of Canberra-Jakarta difficulties or suggesting a reduction in US involvement in Indonesia.
Mr Powell left unclarified whether his remarks meant that Australia should deputise for the US in its relations with Indonesia, a position Indonesia would resist strongly.
Mr Powell and President-elect George W. Bush have emphasised that regional allies must take greater responsibility for regional problems. Mr Powell's comments could create new problems for Australian diplomats working in the hypersensitive political environment of Jakarta.
There was no immediate official reaction in Jakarta, but Indonesian political commentator Salim Said gave a taste of the reception that Mr Powell's comments may get in the political elite circles.
"I think this will not be positive because this will put Australia in a stronger position, vis-a-vis Indonesia, whereas we need an equal partnership," said Professor Said, a political scientist at the University of Indonesia. "It makes it hard to repair the bad relations [that] have been going on for many, many months."
Under the so-called "Powell doctrine", US troops should only be used swiftly and decisively for clear national interest goals, rather than for incremental strategies or for humanitarian missions. There was no clear indication from Mr Powell about when humanitarian intervention would be justified.
"We need friends and allies to help us as we look at the security challenges in the new century. In the Pacific, for example, we are very, very pleased that Australia, our firm ally, has played a keen interest in what's been happening in Indonesia," Mr Powell told the Senate committee.
"And so we will coordinate our policies, but let our ally, Australia, take the lead as they have done so well in that troubled country. "
Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said Australia would provide advice and guidance to the United States about Indonesia. Mr Downer said Australia had long wanted the US to understand the importance of Indonesia and to develop a strategic policy. But Mr Downer said he did not believe Mr Powell was pre-empting a stronger role for Australia in Pacific defence.
Mr Powell acknowledged the concern about the future of Indonesia, saying it was a hugely important country that needed careful attention from the new administration.
Mr Powell said that if countries such as Australia had "direct interest" in local problems such as East Timor, then America "can just give them support, help them, give them financial support, provide whatever logistic support they need ... rather than America feeling it has to respond to every 911 [emergency] call that's out there".
The Australian Government at the time criticised the Clinton administration for its initial reluctance to get involved in East Timor and later for not providing troops.
Mr Powell was questioned on why in March, 1999, he supported military sales to Indonesia, later scuttled because Congress was concerned about human rights abuses, particularly in East Timor.
He said that at the time he thought it was a "reasonable sale to make. And I did not directly relate it to the circumstances in East Timor ... every nation has the right of legitimate self- defence, and if they don't buy it from us, they have many other sources".