U.S. looking to improve military ties with RI

U.S. looking to improve military ties with RI

WASHINGTON (DPA): The Bush administration is consulting with Congress about lifting restrictions on military ties with Indonesia, a top Pentagon official confirmed Tuesday.

Peter Rodman, assistant defence secretary for international security affairs, said that the move was part of a desire in Washington to improve contacts with the new regime of President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"There's been a decision in this government to try to engage with the new government of Indonesia," Rodman said. "It's a government on which to rest the hopes of a lot of us and a lot of Indonesia's neighbors. So engaging with the military is a natural thing for us to do."

One obstacle to improving ties are limits imposed by Congress in 1999 after the Indonesian army's crackdown on separatists in East Timor. Congress passed legislation banning military sales and training until Jakarta provides a "full accounting" of human rights abuses in East Timor.

"We're engaged in congressional consultations to see what flexibility there might be, whether there's a consensus between the two branches of government about perhaps relaxing some of the restrictions," Rodman said.

The U.S. and Indonesian militaries have continued to cooperate in other areas, such as joint training for humanitarian relief.