With its giant population and moderate brand of Islam, Indonesia is fast emerging as a cornerstone US partner for President Barack Obama's administration, observers say, following the visit to Indonesia of the top US diplomat, Agence France-Presse reported.<\/p>\n
Obama spent four years of his childhood in Jakarta and his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, took a nearly 6,000-km detour to Jakarta last week between Tokyo and Seoul on her first official visit abroad.<\/p>\n
Clinton said the US is committed to building a \"comprehensive partnership\" with Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Certainly Indonesia, being the largest Muslim nation in the world, the third-largest democracy, will play a leading role in the promotion of that shared future,\" Clinton said in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In November, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also appealed during a visit to Washington for a \"strategic relationship\" with the United States.<\/p>\n
Jonah Blank, the chief policy adviser on South and Southeast Asia for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Obama had a \"golden opportunity\" to make Indonesia a pivotal US partner.<\/p>\n
\"I think there is greater optimism now than I think we've had at any other point since the founding of Indonesia as a modern nation-state,\" Blank said.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Desmond Walton, who handles Southeast Asia policy at the Pentagon, said the US relationship with Indonesia was \"underdeveloped\" considering the archipelago's vast size and economic potential.<\/p>\n
The US is not the only country to heap more importance on relations with Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Prosperous Switzerland said last week it had chosen Indonesia as one of the priority countries in Asia for development of a new partnership, The Jakarta Post reported.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-eyes-indonesia-as-key-partner-1235623756", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }