By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer
JAKARTA, Indonesia — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates vowed Monday to help Indonesia reform its military, saying the U.S. was ready to help provide airlift and other maritime capabilities the country needs.
And in what appeared to be a response to previous Indonesian criticism that the United States can be overbearing in its foreign and military policies, Gates said the U.S. can play a supportive role as countries like Indonesia map out their own futures.
"From time to time, we have strayed from our ideals and we have been arrogant in dealing with others," Gates said in a speech to the Indonesian Council on World Affairs. "In the end, we have always realized that our own democracy's strength ultimately depends on the strength and independence of other democracies around the world — including new ones such as Indonesia."
He emphasized America's ongoing commitment to the region, but also said nations in the area must also work more together.
"Countries have sometimes found it hard to work with us, or with each other," Gates said. "But we believe that the nations of the region must move in a more multilateral direction in order to deal with the most pressing threats in this era."
Gates said that while the U.S. and Indonesian government have been through some rocky times, he knows that "the American and Indonesian peoples share the same principles of tolerance, pluralism, and religious freedom."
He also said that regional cooperation would be played out against a backdrop of the rise of India, the growth in China's military might and the ongoing threats from North Korea.
Those challenges, he said, are complicated by the rise of rogue nation states, terrorism threats, continued piracy problems on the high seas, and the emergence of deadly diseases — which could include avian flu.
Facing those challenges will require countries to work on a broad cooperative basis, not just with individual partners, he said.
After 13 years of estrangement, the United States has been trying to improve military relations with Indonesia, which can play a key role in a region dominated by worries about North Korea's nuclear ambitions and China's military buildup.
Senior defense officials traveling with Gates said that lingering suspicions of Indonesia's connections to terrorist networks do not reflect significant changes in recent years.
This is not, said one senior official, "your father's Indonesia" that was known primarily for its Jemaah Islamiyah terror network, military dominance in government affairs and human rights abuses.
Instead, there will be efforts to allay Jakarta's concerns that the U.S. could again pull back, risking future military sales.
And they said Gates is looking to acknowledge Indonesia's leadership role in the region, and discuss possible increased military sales to Jakarta. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of Gates' meetings with Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Asked earlier about terror links, Gates acknowledged that Indonesia-based terrorists may continue to have contact with al-Qaeda.
"I assume that those contacts have been maintained but I don't have any sense from the last few weeks or months that there's been a significant increase in those contacts or a particular strengthening of the JI," he said, referring to the Jemaah Islamiyah network.
Just last week, an Indonesian terror suspect — a member of the JI — and two Filipinos were arrested during a raid on their hide-out in the southern Philippines.
The U.S. cut all military ties with Indonesia in 1992, after its army and militia proxies devastated East Timor during its break from Jakarta.
In 2005, the U.S. began to aggressively rebuild relations, but just a year later, then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld got a somewhat frosty welcome to Jakarta. During Rumsfeld's visit, Sudarsono lectured him, saying the U.S. needs to counter perceptions that it is overbearing and let other countries decide how best they should fight terrorism within their own borders.
One topic of Gates' talks will be Indonesia's efforts to modernize its military, including its desire to purchase military airplanes. Jakarta's fleet of 22 C-130 aircraft is aging and in need of refurbishment, and government officials have long sought to purchase replacement parts.
During the 13-year break between the two countries, the U.S. was prohibited from such sales, but those restrictions were lifted in late 2005.
Gates is visiting five countries during an eight-day tour, and will make stops later this week in India and Turkey.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates vowed Monday to help Indonesia reform its military, saying the U.S. was ready to help provide airlift and other maritime capabilities the country needs.
And in what appeared to be a response to previous Indonesian criticism that the United States can be overbearing in its foreign and military policies, Gates said the U.S. can play a supportive role as countries like Indonesia map out their own futures.
"From time to time, we have strayed from our ideals and we have been arrogant in dealing with others," Gates said in a speech to the Indonesian Council on World Affairs. "In the end, we have always realized that our own democracy's strength ultimately depends on the strength and independence of other democracies around the world — including new ones such as Indonesia."
He emphasized America's ongoing commitment to the region, but also said nations in the area must also work more together.
"Countries have sometimes found it hard to work with us, or with each other," Gates said. "But we believe that the nations of the region must move in a more multilateral direction in order to deal with the most pressing threats in this era."
Gates said that while the U.S. and Indonesian government have been through some rocky times, he knows that "the American and Indonesian peoples share the same principles of tolerance, pluralism, and religious freedom."
He also said that regional cooperation would be played out against a backdrop of the rise of India, the growth in China's military might and the ongoing threats from North Korea.
Those challenges, he said, are complicated by the rise of rogue nation states, terrorism threats, continued piracy problems on the high seas, and the emergence of deadly diseases — which could include avian flu.
Facing those challenges will require countries to work on a broad cooperative basis, not just with individual partners, he said.
After 13 years of estrangement, the United States has been trying to improve military relations with Indonesia, which can play a key role in a region dominated by worries about North Korea's nuclear ambitions and China's military buildup.
Senior defense officials traveling with Gates said that lingering suspicions of Indonesia's connections to terrorist networks do not reflect significant changes in recent years.
This is not, said one senior official, "your father's Indonesia" that was known primarily for its Jemaah Islamiyah terror network, military dominance in government affairs and human rights abuses.
Instead, there will be efforts to allay Jakarta's concerns that the U.S. could again pull back, risking future military sales.
And they said Gates is looking to acknowledge Indonesia's leadership role in the region, and discuss possible increased military sales to Jakarta. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of Gates' meetings with Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Asked earlier about terror links, Gates acknowledged that Indonesia-based terrorists may continue to have contact with al-Qaeda.
"I assume that those contacts have been maintained but I don't have any sense from the last few weeks or months that there's been a significant increase in those contacts or a particular strengthening of the JI," he said, referring to the Jemaah Islamiyah network.
Just last week, an Indonesian terror suspect — a member of the JI — and two Filipinos were arrested during a raid on their hide-out in the southern Philippines.
The U.S. cut all military ties with Indonesia in 1992, after its army and militia proxies devastated East Timor during its break from Jakarta.
In 2005, the U.S. began to aggressively rebuild relations, but just a year later, then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld got a somewhat frosty welcome to Jakarta. During Rumsfeld's visit, Sudarsono lectured him, saying the U.S. needs to counter perceptions that it is overbearing and let other countries decide how best they should fight terrorism within their own borders.
One topic of Gates' talks will be Indonesia's efforts to modernize its military, including its desire to purchase military airplanes. Jakarta's fleet of 22 C-130 aircraft is aging and in need of refurbishment, and government officials have long sought to purchase replacement parts.
During the 13-year break between the two countries, the U.S. was prohibited from such sales, but those restrictions were lifted in late 2005.
Gates is visiting five countries during an eight-day tour, and will make stops later this week in India and Turkey.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Comments