RI-U.S. military ties not out

Bantarto Bandoro, Editor, The Indonesian Quarterly, Centre For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta, bandoro@csis.or.id

Recent weeks have seen a profusion of developments that have substantially affected the state of bilateral ties between Indonesia and the U.S. Irritants may have originated both from Indonesia as well as the U.S., but if one were to quantify the sources of irritants, one would have to conclude that those originating from Indonesia seem to have been responsible for the downturn in bilateral ties.

However, it is rather unfair to view Indonesia-U.S. bilateral relations purely by quantifying the origin of the irritants. It is a political reality, however, that the two countries have so far been unable to avoid such irritants in their bilateral ties. Perhaps they do not understand each other well enough.

The recent decision by the U.S. Congress to withhold military aid, as well as the International Military and Education Training (IMET) program to Indonesia, reportedly because of a failure to bring to justice the perpetrators of last year's killing in Timika, Papua, of two U.S. citizens, has again put our bilateral ties to the test. Earlier this month, five American F-18 jet fighters were detected maneuvering over Bawean island in East Java, thus forcing the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs to summon U.S. envoy Ralph L. Boyce. Indonesia expressed regret over the incident but refrained from asking for an apology from Washington after it emerged that the U.S. had reportedly submitted prior notification that the jet fighters would be engaged in maneuvers over the island.

Indonesia-U.S. military ties had been one of the most affected aspects of the bilateral framework due to the turbulence in our bilateral relations. The U.S. Congress first voted to restrict IMET for Indonesia in response to the Nov. 12, 1991, Santa Cruz tragedy, which claimed the lives of about 270 civilians. All military ties were again severed in September 1999, after the Indonesian Military and its militia proxies allegedly razed East Timor after the referendum. All this has tarnished the once extremely close military ties that existed for over three decades perhaps, between the two countries. Attempts at mending military ties have been initiated, but have so far achieved little.

In April last year the two countries held high-level security talks in an effort to restore their military ties, including military training and arms sales. Such a meeting reflected the good intentions of both sides to move into a more normal military relationship. As time has passed, nothing of great significance has appeared in our bilateral military relations.

The Bali bombing, however, helped the two sides feel the need to work hand in hand more closely in combating terrorism. US$50 million in aid to Indonesian security forces was provided by Washington. But the seeming improvement in bilateral relations has only slightly touched the essence of military-to-military ties. Both must realize that there is still a long way to go before resumption of full military ties. Until then, can one truly believe the strategic importance of bilateral military relations, which deserve special respect both from Jakarta and Washington?

We believe in the importance of the relationship for both sides and particularly for Indonesia. We also believe that the bilateral relationship cannot be taken for granted. Massive investment, and a high degree of awareness on both sides of the strategic importance of their security relationship are perhaps imperative if Indonesia and the U.S. are to be perceived as "normal" partners.

Perhaps it is against such a background that the George Bush administration recently proposed to disburse a sum of US$400,000 in military aid for the IMET program. This is the first attempt made by President Bush to restore military ties, but the proposal was met with full resistance from the U.S. House of Representatives, which argued that the IMET funds be withheld until the murder of two American citizens in Papua last year had been investigated thoroughly. Jakarta must understand that Congress takes an attack on U.S. citizens very seriously.

The message it sent out was for Jakarta to be more transparent in the investigation of the murder. The problem is not about the hastiness of the decision, as claimed by Indonesia's foreign ministry spokesman, but perhaps more about the Indonesian side, which Congress demanded to be more honest, committed and professional in handling the Timika case.

TNI commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto was reported as saying that the TNI was proven innocent after its own investigation and blamed the incident instead on the Free Papua Movement (OPM). Initial investigations by the Indonesian Police have strongly implicated TNI personnel in the killing of two U.S. citizens.

With the blockade of aid, many here are probably asking themselves what the Bush administration will do now to mend military relations. But equally important, perhaps, is how the Indonesian side will deal with the probability of unpredictable and emotional reactions from its own society. The task will become even more difficult if the signals coming from the U.S. cannot be understood properly and are, instead, perceived here as overblown.

Communications and dialog play a crucial role in returning military ties to the right track. If the prestigious military aid and training were to be restored, it would undoubtedly be seen as U.S. support for an improvement in the professionalism of TNI. Anger over the intrusion of U.S. F-18 jet fighters into Indonesian airspace indicated how even a small incident could cause bilateral military ties to plummet. The current Indonesian military relationship with the U.S. is indeed down, but not completely out.

It is in the interests of both Jakarta and Washington to see military ties restored, just as it is also in the interests of Indonesia's neighbors.