Military presence in tsunami hit areas

Military presence in tsunami hit areas

One month after the catastrophic Boxing Day tsunami that killed nearly 175,000 people in Indonesia, foreign and national militaries continue to be a major source of relief for many victims in the devastated province of Aceh.

The strong, public military presence, however, has not come without headaches for Indonesia's leaders. ...

The presence of foreign troops, especially from the U.S., on Indonesian soil is a thorny issue for some in nationalistic Indonesia, and particularly in Aceh, a devoutly Muslim province.

Nevertheless, tens of thousands of foreign troops remain in the province, providing critical logistic support for the humanitarian mission. Helicopters operating from five aircraft carriers based off the coast of Sumatra are still heavily relied upon to deliver aid, often to remote areas still unreachable by land routes. -- Taipei Times, Taipei, Taiwan