The United States is determined to normalize military ties with Indonesia, America's top commander in the Pacific said Friday, despite accusations by human rights groups that Jakarta's armed forces are continuing to commit abuses.

"The fact that I'm here meeting with leaders of this country is a good demonstration of the fact that we are re-establishing military-to-military ties that were being held in abeyance for a number of years," Adm.

William J. Fallon, chief of the US Pacific Command, told reporters after meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The armed forces of the two nations cooperated closely in the 1970s and '80s, during the military-backed government of former dictator Suharto.

But the Clinton administration imposed a ban on ties in 1999 after Indonesian troops devastated East Timor following a UN-organized independence referendum.

The Bush administration now wants to resume full ties with Indonesia's military, which it views as a bulwark against Islamic militancy in the world's most populous Muslim nation. Indonesia also is strategically located in critical sea lanes linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

In February, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice lifted restrictions on Jakarta's involvement in the Pentagon's International Military Education and Training program.

Restoring the training program, worth about US$600,000 (Bper year, was generally seen as a first step in normalizing military ties.