Indonesia and the United States 2004-2005: New President, New Needs, Same Old Relations.

摘要

The year 2004 was, for the most part, a direct continuation of the relationship between Washington and Jakarta as it has been since the East Timor crisis of 1999. The military-to-military relationship remained mothballed by Congress s concerns over Indonesia s questionable human rights record. Cooperation and lingering tension remained over the issue of terrorism. The United States continued to support Indonesian territorial integrity but failed to support the Indonesian government to the extent that Jakarta would like on the issue of separatism. President Bush s visit to Indonesia in 2003 was meant to reassure Indonesians that the war on al-Qaeda was not a war on Islam harking back to a continuing theme in U.S. statements to the Indonesian government and public. Indonesian elections ushered in political change, including a new president in Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has promised improved relations with the United States (and a host of other countries), although whether he can deliver on this remains an open question. The tsunami that hit Sumatra on December 26, 2004, causing the deaths of more than 166,000 Indonesians and destroying a good deal of the separatist-minded Aceh province, turned the U.S.-Indonesia relationship on its head. It is hard to imagine any other circumstances in which U.S. armed forces personnel, vehicles, aircraft and equipment, would be on Indonesian terra firma. The importance of Indonesia has not changed. Indonesia is at the heart of the security equation in the wider Southeast Asian region. It sits astride some of the world s most important sea-lanes crucial for world commerce and the passage of the U.S. Navy. It is also the world s fourth-largest country, with the largest Muslim population, and thus provides an important partner for the war on terrorism and the spread of secular democratic governance. For Indonesia, the U.S. is also of major importance, but nonetheless a domestic difficulty.