Eugene Low, Washington – The United States is optimistic that bilateral ties with Indonesia will improve under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a top State Department official has said.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Marie Huhtala told a conference that both countries have a "better opportunity now that at any other time in the past" to strengthen their relationship.
Reiterating America"s commitment to Indonesia, she said: 'We continue to support Indonesia's democratisation process. The stakes are enormous and we believe that Indonesia is essential to the peace and prosperity of South-east Asia." She was speaking at a meeting to discuss Washington's ties with Jakarta by the US-Indonesia Society.
President George W. Bush is due to meet his Indonesian counterpart for the first time tomorrow on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Santiago, Chile. All eyes will be on that meeting.
Ms Huhtala, who was the US ambassador to Malaysia from 2001 until May this year, was confident both men would establish "a certain level of rapport". "The conditions are there, it just feels right," she said. The Bush administration is "excited about the future of US-Indonesian relations", and will pursue a "broad agenda" with Jakarta, she added.
A key priority for the US would be to ensure that Indonesia's democracy and reform of its judicial system continue to progress. The US will also support Jakarta's efforts to reform the country's military and to bring it under civilian control, said Ms Huhtala.
On security issues, the US is keen on enhancing joint efforts to combat terrorism. "The threat of future attacks remains serious," she said. "We intend to explore such cooperation further."
The US currently provides assistance and training to Indonesia's police force. However, links between the armed forces of both countries – which were increasingly restricted by the US Congress during the 1990s – are expected to remain on hold. The sale of US weapons to Indonesia, as well as the training of Indonesian military personnel, have been banned.
Mr Larry Niksch, an analyst with the Congressional Research Service, said at the conference that several issues concerning the Indonesian military's human rights record had yet to be resolved.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are unlikely to favour a normalisation of ties between the US and Indonesian armed forces. He said: "Within Congress, there is a perception that the Indonesian army commits human rights abuses." Acknowledging the difficulties dogging US-Indonesian ties, Ms Huhtala hoped both sides would work to smooth out the rough edges of their relationship. The US should be willing to listen and not "slip into a hectoring mode", she said.