U.S. watching Indonesian military, official says

U.S. watching Indonesian military, official says

HANOI (Reuters): The United States is closely watching the
Indonesian military after the rise to power of new President
Megawati Soekarnoputri, but has not decided whether to increase
limited ties with Jakarta's armed forces, a senior U.S. State
Department official said on Tuesday.

The official, who asked not to be identified, told reporters
traveling with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to Vietnam
that Indonesia's army was backing Megawati.

He noted that the army had been part of major problems in
Indonesia, but said it could also be part of the solution.

Indonesian lawmakers on Monday appointed Megawati, daughter of
the country's founding leader, as the country's fifth president
after ousting Abdurrahman Wahid.

"I don't think there seems to be much prospect of Indonesia
backing off on democracy," said the U.S. official. "It seems to
be a little less messy than we had feared as far as
demonstrations" in Indonesia this week.

The official said the United States had been considering
increasing very low-key, military-to-military contacts with the
world's fourth most populous country, but suggested that such a
move would depend on how the military behaved.

"It really depends on how the Indonesian military responds on
transparency, on accountability for some of the things of the
past and on the quality of their crackdowns or lack of same in
contentious issues," the official said.

Due to restrictions imposed by the U.S. Congress, the United
States is permitted only limited contacts with the Indonesian
military.

The White House, under President George W. Bush and former
President Bill Clinton, has been very restrictive in allowing
such ties.

Those ties are currently limited to humanitarian and disaster
relief exercises, including a recent visit by U.S. Marines.

U.S. defense officials are anxious to reestablish solid ties
with the Indonesian military, but want to make sure that the
military remains under the command and control of a
democratically elected civilian leadership.

"Although the U.S. supports the territorial integrity of
Indonesia we certainly don't support some sort of harsh military
crackdown in a place like Aceh or ... Irian Jaya," the senior
State Department official told reporters.

He said the United States was ready to invite civilian
military students to participate in courses. It could also let
the army "occasionally buy some nonlethal spare parts. But this
is all very low-key and within the framework of the legislative
restrictions we have," he added.

In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said military-to-military
relations with Indonesia had not automatically changed as a
result of Megawati's rise to power.

"We believe that they can, and should, work constructively
with the Indonesian military within the limits of the law and
policy to meet specific U.S. interests," the spokesman, Navy Lt.
Cmdr. Jeff Davis, told Reuters.