Southeast Asia not a priority for Powell

JAKARTA (JP): Observers here, while welcoming the appointment of retired Gen. Colin Powell as United States Secretary of State, felt that it would have little impact on Washington's foreign policy outlook towards Indonesia or Southeast Asia.

Foreign affairs observer and former Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said Washington's priorities in the region would remain focused on China and Japan.

"And Southeast Asia may be placed as the fourth priority after Europe, China and Japan, and the Middle east. We will not get that much attention from the new administration," Juwono told The Jakarta Post.

He further said that it would be unlikely that there will be a major shift in policy towards Indonesia, with more pleasant rhetoric but not necessarily any action.

"The current administration is quite patronizing towards us, maybe the new administration will be less demanding in terms of rhetoric," Juwono said.

Juwono noted that a major advantage of having Powell as Secretary of State is that, as a soldier, he would be more capable of judging the appropriate use of force in foreign relations, an important area of diplomacy.

Kusnanto Anggoro of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said that although Powell may initially seem less focused on human rights issues, and is not expected to pressure Indonesia immediately on the issue, it does not mean that there will be a marked improvement in the state of relations, particularly concerning the limited exchange of military aid.

"In military ties, there will be no guarantee that they will fully restore them with us. Maybe in government to government relations they will not pressure us too much, but they might do it through Congress," Kusnanto told the Post.

He further said that, with Powell as secretary of state, the U.S. will most likely be firmer, but exercise more self-restraint in the use of force in their foreign intervention policies.

"But still, it will not affect us that much. To Iraq maybe, but not us," Kusnanto remarked.

Meanwhile, Bara Hasibuan, deputy secretary general for foreign affairs at the National Mandate Party, said that Powell has the respect of the domestic and international community.

"We hope the United States will continue to assist in the acceleration of the democratic process in Indonesia," Bara said in a statement.

"However, everyone in Indonesia should realize that there will be no fundamental change in U.S. foreign policy."

Like Juwono and Kusnanto, Bara also felt that the use of force would be "more selective" given Powell's background.

Bara further questioned the optimism of certain Indonesian officials who felt that the new administration will be beneficial to Indonesia. Bara believes that this point of view is somewhat premature.

"What's more important is that there has to be a realization and willingness from Indonesian officials, both in the executive and legislature, to discard attitudes based on narrow-minded nationalism which tends to fault foreign parties for our own mistakes," Bara remarked.(dja)