New leaf in U.S.-RI ties

The red carpet treatment President Megawati Soekarnoputri received during her official visit to the United States last week went far beyond the normal diplomatic protocols bestowed upon previous Indonesian leaders.

President George W. Bush made a point of meeting Megawati and having lunch with her at the White House, in spite of his busy schedule amid preparations to launch a war against international terrorism. The White House even scheduled Megawati ahead of Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, America's most important ally. Megawati's visit itself, coming a week after the terrorist attack in the United States, went ahead as planned at Bush's insistence.

That, combined with Bush's positive response to Indonesia's concerns raised by Megawati, suggest that ties between Indonesia and the United States have moved up to a new and stronger level.

That Indonesia is important to U.S. strategic interests has long been recognized by many people in Washington. Its strategic location between two oceans, straddling the equator and controlling vital sea lanes, its role as a major supplier of natural resources, including petroleum, its position as the world's fourth most populous country and the world's largest Muslim-populated country, all mean that Indonesia is a country that the United States simply cannot ignore.

Such recognition has hardly been translated into or reflected in U.S. policies toward Indonesia. The Megawati-Bush meeting appeared to have placed relations between the two countries, at least from Washington's perspective, on more solid ground -- one that recognizes the strategic interests of both countries.

To Indonesia, the United States remains one of its most important trading partners. The presence of many economic ministers in Megawati's delegation underpins the main agenda of her visit: Indonesia's economic recovery cannot be sustained without the support of the United States and American investors.

The joint statement that came out of the Bush-Megawati meeting not only addressed Indonesia's economic concerns, including Washington's US$657 million aid pledge, but more importantly, their common concerns on various issues, including the rise of global terrorism and the need to fight it together.

Indonesia's unequivocal support was especially important, coming as Bush's administration builds an international coalition to launch its war against international terrorism. Although Megawati had gone to the United States as the leader of Indonesia -- representing both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities of her people -- her support was inevitably seen there as support from a significant number of the world's Muslim population. This was important for Bush amid concerns that his crusade against terrorism was being perceived in some quarters -- or it is perhaps more apt to say misperceived -- as a war against Islam.

Circumstances have played a major role in changing the nature of relations between Indonesia and the United States. As an emerging, if not struggling, democracy, any Indonesian leader will likely find a sympathetic ear from American leaders. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, as deplorable as they were, affected the way Washington sees Indonesia. Without these circumstances, Megawati's trip would probably have been just another visit by an Indonesian leader to Washington.

Now relations between Indonesia and the United States are founded more upon common strategic interests, mutual respect and mutual benefit. So long as they are cultivated upon these principles, there is no reason why Indonesia and the United States, in spite of their differences, cannot be close friends.

Indonesia and the United States may be very different geographically, culturally and historically, but as President Megawati said in her speech before the United States-Indonesia Society in Washington on Thursday, we both share the same dream. That is, the dream of creating a great nation, where all men and women are treated as equals, where people of all races, ethnicity and religion live side by side in peace and prosperity as one.

As two countries that have very large and very diverse populations, Indonesia and the United States can learn from each other in achieving the American Dream, or the Indonesian Dream as the case may be.