U.S., RI ties seen improving
U.S., RI ties seen improving
Koh Gui Qing, Reuters/Singapore
Washington's tsunami relief in Indonesia's ravaged Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam province has paved the way for stronger ties between the United States and the world's most populous Muslim country, a U.S. navy commander said on Monday.
Many Indonesians were initially suspicious of the U.S. soldiers who arrived in Aceh a week after the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami but that attitude changed over a few weeks, said U.S. Navy Rear Admiral William Douglas Crowder.
"There was quite frankly a lot of suspicion when the U.S. military first arrived," said the commander of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, which is made up of an aircraft carrier, a cruiser, two destroyers and a supply ship.
"The politicians will have to decide, but I think the scene is set for improved relations," Crowder told a seminar in Singapore four days after leaving Aceh.
"You can't help but feel the kinship that was built in the 35 days that we were there," he said.
After years of limited contact because of concern over past human rights abuses by Indonesia's army, defense officials from both nations said in January ties could improve as the countries capitalize on goodwill built after the U.S. tsunami aid.
Ties between the two countries were strained after Indonesian soldiers and the militia they backed in East Timor were accused in 1998 of human right violations there.
But relations started to improve after Indonesia launched a crackdown of Jamaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian militant network.
The Abraham Lincoln, which arrived in Indonesia on Jan. 1 and left on Feb. 4, was the backbone of supply lines, delivering some 2.7 million of food, water and medical supplies to Indonesian tsunami victims.
"As I told General Bambang, I love his country but my intention is to go back to Seattle to attend my daughter's wedding and not stay here forever," Crowder said, referring to a conversation with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said in January he would consult with his government and Congress over whether the time was right for the United States to relax its sanctions on sales of military equipment to Indonesia.
Currently, the United States has three ships and 20 helicopters as part of tsunami relief in Indonesia but this deployment may leave in "a matter of days", said Crowder.
The presence of foreign troops has been a sensitive issue in Indonesia, especially in Aceh, previously off-limits to outsiders due to a three-decade-old insurgency. Indonesia set an goal of the end of March for foreign forces to withdraw from Aceh.
"This is their country. We are here to help them on their terms. Although we bring a lot of capability and although we can dream up wonderful schemes of how we like to use that capability, this is their country," said Crowder.