Rumsfeld Indonesia visit cements military ties
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-06 21:48
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Tuesday the
restoration of U.S. military ties with Indonesia was good for both countries and
he was committed to ensuring Jakarta access to American training and equipment.
![Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (R), accompanied by Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono, speaks at a news conference after their meeting in Jakarta June 6, 2006. [Reuters]](xin_4406030621515201994236.jpg)
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (R),
accompanied by Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono, speaks at a
news conference after their meeting in Jakarta June 6, 2006.
[Reuters] |
The Pentagon chief held talks with Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono
Sudarsono, who said Jakarta would study "limited" participation in a U.S.-led
program to halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction -- a scheme
that Muslim-majority Indonesia has been wary of joining.
Rumsfeld's visit to Jakarta, the final leg of a three-country Asian tour,
came six months after the State Department waived Congressional restrictions
that had cut U.S. military aid and arms sales to Indonesia imposed in 1992 over
human rights abuses by Indonesian forces in East Timor.
U.S. and Indonesian forces "need to know each other and be able to
communicate well with each other and understand each other when there is a
disaster," Rumsfeld said after talks with Sudarsono and President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono.
The world's most populous Muslim country with 220 million people, Indonesia
is valued by the United States for its strategic weight and as an example of an
Islamic country embracing democracy.
A U.S. military officer said the training would resume with exercises to help
the archipelago nation in disaster relief and maritime security and with the
sale of spare parts for C-130 transport planes and patrol ships -- shortages of
which hampered Jakarta's response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
"They are going to request spare parts for their F-16s as well," said the
officer, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said Yudhoyono, a
U.S.-trained general, had told Rumsfeld he wanted the military relationship to
"become permanent because there are efforts in Washington to change these good
relations."
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