Hanoi – The United States is watching the Indonesian military closely after the rise to power of President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Its officials have yet to decide whether to increase limited ties with Jakarta's armed forces, according to a senior US State Department official.

The official told reporters travelling with US Secretary of State Colin Powell to Vietnam yesterday that Indonesia's army was backing Ms Megawati. He said that while the army had been part of major problems in Indonesia, it could also be part of solutions there.

The US had been considering increasing very low-key, military-to-military contacts with the world's fourth most-populous country. The official, who declined to be named, suggested that such a move would depend on how the military behaved.

"It really depends on how the Indonesian military responds on transparency, on accountability for some of the things of the past and on the quality of their crackdowns or lack of same in contentious issues," he said.

Due to restrictions imposed by Congress, the US is permitted only limited contact with the Indonesian military. The White House, under President George W. Bush and former president Bill Clinton, has been very restrictive in allowing such ties. Those ties are limited to humanitarian and disaster relief exercises, such as a recent visit by US Marines who helped to paint a school in Indonesia.

US defence officials are anxious to re-establish solid ties with the Indonesian military, but they want to make sure that the military remains under the command and control of a democratically elected civilian leadership.

"Although the US supports the territorial integrity of Indonesia, we certainly don't support some sort of harsh military crackdown in a place like Aceh or ... Irian Jaya," the senior State Department official told reporters.