Jakarta – Indonesia welcomed Australia's decision Sunday to resume ties with its elite commando unit to help fight terrorism, but human rights activists questioned whether the force had improved its record since Canberra imposed the ban.

Joint exercises with the force, known as Kopassus, were suspended in 1999 following allegations the troops were involved in atrocities in East Timor ahead of the former Indonesian province's 1999 independence vote.

On Sunday, Australia's defense minister said joint maneuvers would resume next year, citing the unit's importance in cracking down on al-Qaida linked militants blamed for a series of deadly bombings in the country since 2000.

"We highly respect the Australian decision," said Indonesian military spokesman Maj. Gen. Kohirin Suganda. "The world has the right to judge the Indonesian military, but the tsunami disaster and the terrorism threat have opened peoples' eyes and minds on how important we are in providing effective relief aid and in counterterrorism."

Asmara Nababan, the executive director, of the Institute for Human Rights and Democracy Studies, said he was not convinced Kopassus had undertaken meaningful reform since 1999, and noted the force was implicated in rights abuses elsewhere in Indonesia.

"Up until now I am not convinced there have been any major changes in Kopassus, so what is to stop the force committing more abuses in the future," he said. The decision is the latest step in the international rehabilitation of Indonesia's armed forces.

Also citing the need to bolster the military in the light of the anti-terror war, the United States last month lifted a ban on arms sales to Jakarta that was imposed after the East Timor conflict.

Nababan questioned Canberra's reason for resuming the exercises. "The lead agency in the war against terrorism is the police, so what is the relevance and urgency of training Kopassus," he said. "This is all about Australia wanting good ties with Indonesia and using the training issue as a reward."