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.