U.S., RI Navies conduct joint antiterror training
U.S., RI Navies conduct joint antiterror training
Associated Press, Laki Island/Jakarta
Indonesian marines and U.S. Navy seals parachuted into the sea
off Jakarta on Tuesday in a joint anti-terror exercise, the
latest sign of increased cooperation between the two militaries
despite a ban on full contacts due to human rights concerns.
The exercises, involving seven U.S. servicemen and more than
40 Indonesians, are designed to strengthen cooperation in dealing
with "threats in our waters, including piracy and terrorism,"
said Lt. Col. Edi Fernandi, a spokesman for Indonesia's western
fleet.
Washington imposed a full ban on military ties with Indonesia
in 1999, after the country's troops and their militia proxies
devastated its former province of East Timor following a UN-
organized independence referendum.
The U.S. administration is keen to resume ties with the
military in Indonesia, which is the world's most populous Muslim
nation and a key country in the war on terror. Islamic hardliners
with links to al-Qaida have launched three bloody attacks on
western targets in Indonesia since 2002.
The country's vast waterways are of particular concern,
especially the Malacca Strait, which separates Indonesia,
Malaysia and Singapore. The U.S. has warned a terrorist attack in
the strategic waterway could cripple world trade.
Tuesday's exercises came under an exchange program that was
reinstated last year, U.S. embassy spokesman Max Kwak said last
week when the program began with classroom sessions. The drills,
which do not involve any firing of weapons, are designed to boost
anti-terror cooperation, he said.
Apart from Tuesday's parachute drop on the nearby island of
Laki, those taking part in the drills would also practice sea
survival, navigation and ship boarding in the case of a
hijacking.
The exercises, which are taking part close to a chain of more
than 100 mostly uninhabited islands a short boat ride north of
the Indonesian capital, are scheduled to continue through May 13.
Moves to restore full military ties got a boost after the Dec.
26 tsunami devastated much of Indonesia's Aceh province.
Washington dispatched a Navy carrier group to the region, which
cooperated closely with Indonesia's military in distributing aid
and treating survivors.
However, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick told
reporters in Jakarta Saturday that full ties would not be
restored until Jakarta brought the killers of two American
schoolteachers in Papua three years ago to justice.
In February, Washington restored a training program for
Indonesian officers, a move generally viewed as a first step in
lifting the ban.