Lee Siew Hua, Washington – The United States appears frustrated with Indonesia for not being aggressive enough in its pursuit of Al-Qaeda sympathisers on its own soil.

But despite a sense of dissatisfaction among US officials, the Pentagon is intent on restarting military contacts with Indonesia, by involving its officers in a new counter-terrorism training fellowship for the region.

Admiral Dennis Blair, commander-in-chief of the US Pacific Command, told lawmakers on Wednesday: "Indonesia has not aggressively investigated domestic elements that are sympathetic to the aims of Al-Qaeda."

He told a joint hearing of the House panels on the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East: "With many challenges on its plate, and diminishing resources, Indonesia's security apparatus does not have full control of its borders."

South-east Asian specialist Angel Rabasa of the Rand research institute in Washington told The Straits Times: "There's a certain level of frustration with Indonesia in Washington. At the same time, there is some understanding of its political environment. It will be difficult for the friends of Indonesia in and out of the administration to give greater support to Indonesia in the absence of more visible action."

In Adm Blair's testimony on security policy in the Asia-Pacific, he indicated that the restrictions on US military cooperation with Indonesia, compelled by Congress after the 1999 East Timor violence, should be lifted as they obstruct the US war on terror. He said: "Current restrictions on our interaction with the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) limit our effectiveness."

He had reportedly pushed for Indonesia to be included in the new counter-terrorism training for the region, though full-blown military cooperation remains unlikely.

Of the new Regional Defence Fellowship Programme, which will allow the US to work with armed forces, such as the TNI, to defeat international terrorism, he said: "Sustained interaction with the armed forces of the region improves the readiness for coalition operations against our common enemy, and it also provides the use of facilities and forces."

He praised the Philippines for its cooperation with the US, but warned that the war against the Abu Sayyaf "will not be won by military operations alone". Instead, improvements in many fields were needed.

He said: "Improvements in law enforcement, intelligence, economics, business, information, media, academia, community leadership and religion will have enduring and important roles in the battle."

On the wider Asia-Pacific, he said September 11 had not erased previous concerns about this vital region. "Extremely critical defence and policy questions that we were dealing with before Sept 11 remain with us ... The Taiwan Strait military balance and the rhetoric across the strait of North Korea that's starving its population while selling missiles and the continued tensions between nuclear neighbours India and Pakistan. These problems still keep me awake at night, and they keep my forces busy maintaining deterrence and keeping up the readiness and promoting security cooperation."

For instance, speaking about North Korean military moves, he said that "the ongoing 2002 winter-training cycle has featured unusual corps-level activity".