Jakarta – Indonesia stands to lose three million jobs if it decides to sever diplomatic ties with the United States, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said. "Where will we channel those three million labourers who get laid off if Indonesia cuts its ties with the US?" he asked on Wednesday.

Many local offices of foreign enterprises, especially those related to American investors, have decided to scale down their activities due to anti-US rallies here following the US-led attacks on Afghanistan. Mr Jacob called on Indonesians sympathising with Afghanistan to maintain the country's good ties with the US.

"I cannot accept the fact that a country attacks another country, but we have to look at the situation of our own country, which has slipped deeper into the economic crisis," he said.

Deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iman Taufik said that severing diplomatic ties with the US would further weaken the country's economy since the US and its allies controlled the global economy.