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