Ivy Susanti, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has welcomed the US government's gesture to restore full military training ties with Indonesia, which was downgraded 13 years ago.

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said however that the US should also revive contacts between military officers from the two countries, and not only the training or equipment purchase programs. "From the ministry's perspective, if we are talking about military relations, this also refers to the renewal of contacts between the military officers, not only the possibility of purchasing military equipment from certain countries," he told reporters on Friday.

In Washington, US new Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signaled on Thursday that 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, AFP reported on Friday. "I think it's a good time to do that," Rice told a Senate panel on Thursday, 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.

Marty said that the Indonesian government was of the same view, that the time was right to restore military relations. "This should be the best of times to restore military ties between Indonesia and the US because, as the US has repeatedly said, Indonesia is a democracy and is very important to the US," he said.

Marty also said that the Indonesian government had lobbied the Congress for support but the final decision is still with the US "Because of the US political system, we cannot just work this issue out with the government alone. So we reached out to our colleagues on Capitol Hill to assure them our intentions. There are those who are for and against us, but in principle, we cannot intervene in the decision making process, be that in the Congress or in the government," he said.

The administration of President George W. Bush has been eager to restore military links with Indonesia, largely to help combat terrorism, but has been confronted by 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 and pro-Indonesia militias allegedly 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 school teachers in the country's Papua province.

Relations took an upturn, however, after the US mounted a massive military relief operation to help Indonesian victims of the December 26 tsunami that wreaked havoc 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.

[A number of recent reports have erroneously reported that Washington partially lifted the embargo by supplying parts for the Hercules aircraft. Indonesia has in fact been allowed to buy the spare parts under US law since 2002 – JB.]