US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signaled that the United States was ready to restore full military training ties with Indonesia that were downgraded 13 years ago.

Rice told a Senate panel she was in the "final stages" of consultations with Congress on certifying Indonesia as eligible to benefit from the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program.

"I think it's a good time to do that," she said, citing what she called Indonesia's "successful" presidential election last year and cooperation in the investigation of the 2002 murder of two Americans in Indonesia.

The administration of President George W. Bush has been eager to restore military links with Indonesia, largely to help combat terrorism, but has run so far into a reluctant Congress.

But Rice, testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the proposed 2006 budget, expressed confidence the move would go through. "I do believe the time may have come to do that," she said.

The top US diplomat said the move, which requires congressional approval, would "restore full IMET privileges to Indonesia" that were suspended in 1992 amid concerns over Indonesia's human rights record.

The United States stepped up sanctions in 1999 after the Indonesian army killed some 1,500 people during East Timor's drive for independence.

Ties soured further in 2002 when the Indonesian army was accused of blocking US investigations into the killing of two US schoolteachers in the country's Papua province.

Relations took an upturn, however, after the United States mounted a massive military relief operation to help Indonesian victims of the December 26 tsunami that wreaked havoc, mostly in Aceh province.

Washington partially lifted an embargo on the supply of military hardware to Indonesia, delivering spare parts for five Hercules transport planes so they could be used to aid tsunami victims.