Improving Jakarta-Washington relations

Improving Jakarta-Washington relations

SINGAPORE: Moving cautiously to re-establish contacts with the
Indonesian military, the Bush administration may win
Congressional support for its effort, but only if there is change
for the better in Jakarta. Until the Indonesian armed forces
implement reforms, the U.S. Congress is not going to lift the ban
it imposed in 1999 on military sales and training for the
Indonesians. Washington wants to see the senior officers
responsible for the rape of East Timor brought to justice, that
Jakarta stops arming the militias in West Timor and disbands
them.

This is apart from the atrocities committed against separatist
rebels in Aceh and Irian Jaya. It was only in April last year
that Adm. Dennis Blair, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific
forces, criticized the Indonesian army for its rights abuses. He
said the Indonesian defense forces had to be more professional
before bilateral military ties with the U.S. could be resumed.

He cautioned that there was a long way to go before the two
countries could restart full military cooperation. The U.S. was
looking for an "across-the-board improvement" in the Indonesian
military, he said.

Thus, unless there are genuine reforms, Jakarta faces an
uphill task in normalizing military ties with the U.S. This is a
big blow for the Indonesians. For decades, Washington was a key
supplier of weapons to Jakarta. The Americans ran a training
program for top Indonesian officers, but the U.S. Congress
terminated it after the East Timor rampage.

Since then, their relations became strained. When the U.S.
noted that the Indonesian army did little to stop the ethnic
violence in Kalimantan in March, Indonesian Defense Minister
Muhammad Mahfud blamed Washington's arms embargo for hampering
the military's ability to deal with the problem.

Indeed, he blamed the U.S. for Indonesia's failure to maintain
law and order in Aceh and West Timor. All this makes for a testy
relationship. It is thus crucial to keep the communication
channels open.

The Indonesian military, after all, is still an influential
player in politics even though it is divided and its morale is in
tatters. Restoration of the military links will give Washington a
line to plumb its thinking. Without them, the U.S. has even less
chance to influence the Indonesian top brass. Given Indonesia's
strategic importance, the Pentagon supports military links with
Jakarta, but it is open to criticisms from Congress and human
rights groups if it re-establishes ties without visible signs of
reforms in the Indonesian military (TNI).

Unfortunately, its top brass is deeply preoccupied with the
power struggle in Jakarta to be thinking of reforms. And as the
separatist war in Aceh intensifies, the military will face more
criticisms about its operations to put down the rebellion. Still,
it is important that the U.S. maintains the contacts, even if aid
and exchange programs remain suspended.

There are obvious incentives for the TNI to undertake reforms.
It is not incapable of change. But it has been hamstrung by the
lack of strong leadership and funds. The Indonesians need help
badly, and the United States is in a position to help them.

This it can do by prodding the military to move in the
direction of reforms. The Bush administration is hoping that the
renewed contacts will lead to positive changes. This is also a
chance for Jakarta to repair a strained relationship. But it will
take some doing for the Indonesians to get their house in order
and change the thinking of U.S. lawmakers.

-- The Straits Times/Asia News Network