Gates seeks closer ties with Indonesia

By Lolita Baldor, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:33 a.m., Monday, February 25, 2008

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- 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-Qaida.

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