RI-U.S. military ties not out

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.