Jakarta – Indonesia and the United States will discuss ways to improve military ties during a visit by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Indonesia's foreign minister said Friday.

Rumsfeld is to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Indonesia's defense and foreign ministers during his two-day visit, which begins Tuesday.

Rumsfeld will "discuss all things relating to the improvement of military-to-military relations," Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said. Topics will include military equipment and maritime security, especially in the narrow Malacca Strait, he said.

Each year, more than 50,000 ships, carrying half the world's oil and a third of its commerce, pass through the Malacca Strait, bordered by Malaysia and Singapore on one side and the Indonesian island of Sumatra on the other. US officials have expressed concern about possible terrorist attacks.

Washington cut all military ties with Indonesia, the world's largest predominantly Muslim nation, in 1999 after its army and militia proxies devastated East Timor during its break from Jakarta. It lifted the ban in November, citing Indonesia's cooperation in fighting terrorism.

On Thursday, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said he will urge Rumsfeld not to pressure other countries to follow Washington's approach in fighting terrorism.

"We will tell the United States that if it demands that the handling of terrorism be based on its ways, it will only hurt the United States itself... and cause anger and a loss of sympathy among the world's communities," JUwono told reporters.

Juwono said it would be better to let each country decide how to handle terrorism rather than having it be based on the will of the United States or other parties. He didn't elaborate.

Anti-American sentiment in Indonesia rose sharply after the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and many see the US war on terrorism as being directed against Muslims.

Juwono also said he would talk to Rumsfeld about acquiring spare parts for Indonesia's US-made F-16 fighter jets, many of which had to be grounded after the break in military ties because of a ban on arms sales.

Human rights groups criticized the resumption of military ties, saying human rights abuses continued in the Indonesian army.