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By STEVEN R. WEISMAN Published: March 14, 2006 JAKARTA, March 14 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought today to expand a "strategic partnership" with Indonesia, including increased military cooperation following the decision last year to resume military aid that had long been cut off because of Indonesia's human rights difficulties.
On a separate matter, Ms. Rice said she was unconcerned about the apparent rebuff of China and Russia to American hopes for quick passage of a statement at the United Nations Security Council demanding that Iran improve its cooperation with the West over ending its uranium enrichment activities.
"I'm content to let diplomacy continue for a while before we determine what the outcome is going to be," Ms. Rice said, referring to deliberations at the Security Council on Iran. "I'm quite certain we'll find an appropriate vehicle for expressing the international community's solidarity."
The United States and its European partners want a statement adopted by consensus at the Council, issued in the name of the Council president, calling on Iran to resume its suspension of activities that the West believes are concealing a nuclear arms program.
Referring to Indonesia, both Ms. Rice and the Indonesian foreign minister, Noer Hassan Wirajuda, used the phrase "strategic partnership," reflecting American interest in building up this country as a major commercial and military power in the region, in part to help counter the growing influence of China. Ms. Rice also praised Indonesia as a "tolerant" and "moderate" country in a troubled region.
In the United States, the Defense Department had been pressing for some time a resumption of military aid to Indonesia, but aid has been mostly cut off since 1991, when Indonesian security forces attacked civilians seeking independence for East Timor. Indonesia's vote to secede from Indonesia in 1999 cleared the way for the resumption.
Ms. Rice stopped in Indonesia on a swing across the southern hemisphere of the globe that started in Santiago, Chile, over the weekend. From here she goes to Australia, another key ally in Southeast Asia, an area that has felt slighted because she has not visited since becoming Secretary of State early last year.
State Department officials traveling with Ms. Rice said it was important to underscore growing ties following the election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2004. The officials say he has sought to regain civilian control of Indonesia's military, attack corruption and improve the climate for American investment.
Another objective of the trip for Ms. Rice was to try reach out to Indonesia's predominantly Muslim population, which like Muslim populations across the Middle East and Asia is distrustful of American intentions following the Iraq war and the incarceration of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Partly because of American assistance to Indonesia after the tsunami of late 2004, amounting to $400 million in official aid, approval ratings for the United States have leveled at a high of about 50 percent, according to American officials, citing what they said were recent opinion polls.
Ms. Rice sought to address the concerns of Muslims by touring a Muslim school receiving American funds and announcing a new program to bring the characters of the television show "Sesame Street" to Indonesian audiences. In all the United States provides $135 million in assistance to Indonesia. This figure includes more than $150 million to be spent over five years for education alone.
"Sometimes I think there's a lack of understanding of how much the United States respects the people of Islamic faith," Ms. Rice said at her news conference with the foreign minister. She spoke of the growing Muslim population in the United States and the admiration she said Americans had of a multi-religious population like Indonesia's.
"I would hope that it would be recognized that the United States, the heart of the people of the United States, is demonstrated when something like the tsunami happens," Ms. Rice added, noting further that government aid was "very, very prompt and quick" and that it was supplemented by private contributions of Americans themselves.
Ms. Rice visited a Muslim school receiving American funding and chatted briefly with several boys and girls sitting in the classroom together. Later she said that she wished Americans could see that this sort of school was different from the madrassahs that have a reputation for teaching extremism in many Islamic countries.
A phalanx of television cameras whirred to at least record the event for Indonesian audiences, as Ms. Rice shook hands with the character Elmo, though she had to be prompted before saying his name.
There were few details of the military assistance to Indonesia, but the American embassy said that 40 military officers would be trained by the United States. In addition, the United States aid will modernize the military and "provide further incentives for reform" and assist in counterterrorism, maritime security and disaster relief, the American embassy said.
Ms. Rice said that human rights abuses from the past were also a focus of discussions today, but she praised Indonesia for the progress it had made in establishing control over the military, clearing up human rights problems left over from East Timor and continuing negotiations with the rebellious province of Aceh.
EXCLUSIVE-India set for major military expansion in Andamans
This is the beginning of some extremely serious stuff. Bush is grooming India to take on China. China cannot afford to let the US/India gain control of the Malacca Strait.
In order to contain China Bush is attempting to control the flow of oil to the Middle Kingdom. The US is building India as a counterpoise to China. Myanmar is a key country to this effect. If India succeeds in building a port at Dawei this will be of great help to Washington.
However, India is also looking to develop the Andaman Sea, without cooperation from China. India is unlikely to move towards cooperation with Beijing on this issue because New Delhi sees building a port at Dawei, Myanmar as a major component to its security strategy for the region. The port will support its Far Eastern Naval Command project at Port Blair, which is aimed at gaining "blue water" status for India's Navy, affording India the ability to launch military operations away from its coast. #msg-7086905
-Am
EXCLUSIVE-India set for major military expansion in Andamans 16 Mar 2006 11:16:01 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Bappa Majumdar
KOLKATA, India, March 16 (Reuters) - India will soon start a major expansion of its military presence in the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a year after the Asian tsunami wrecked defence bases there, a top commander said on Thursday.
The plans include construction of three new air bases to add to the one existing base, increasing coast guard troop levels and strengthening infrastructure at old facilities in the strategically vital archipelago in the Bay of Bengal.
"Our expansion plans are totally transparent and the defensive measures are being taken to ensure the safety and security of the islands only," said Vice-Admiral Arun Kumar Singh, commander-in-chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.
"We have found an unused 3,000-feet (900-metre) World War Two runway in very good condition in Kamorta (island), which we are planning to develop soon," Singh told Reuters by phone from Port Blair, capital of the island group, referring to one of the three new air bases planned.
Two other air bases would be built in Diglipur and Campbell Bay after small airstrips there are lengthened to handle large transport and fighter aircraft, he said.
The Andaman and Nicobar islands are located about 1,200 km (750 miles) east of the Indian mainland, close to the Malacca Strait, the main sea lane between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea leading to the Pacific.
India has an air and naval bases and listening posts across the archipelago as it considers the sea routes vital to its security and to guard against what some defence experts say is China's increasing interest in the region.
Sea routes in the region are known to be used to ship weapons destined for rebels in northeastern India, Myanmar or Bangladesh and drug smuggling. They are also prone to smuggling, piracy, poaching and illegal immigration.
CHINESE WARSHIPS
Besides, the Great Nicobar island lies just 65 miles (100 km) from Sumatra and was considered vulnerable when Indonesian President Sukarno offered to take the islands to help Pakistan during its 1965 war with India.
Vice-Admiral Singh said that the runway in Campbell Bay would also be elevated to keep the sea away and sea walls built to protect personnel and the local population.
"With gadgets like the Instrument Landing System in place, landing in difficult weather conditions won't be a problem in future either," he said.
The Andamans were badly hit by the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami, with more than 3,500 people killed and nearly 40,000 displaced.
The dead included about 110 air force personnel and their families on the Car Nicobar base, which suffered extensive damage due to the giant waves.
But the facility was quickly repaired and the Indian Air Force even conducted exercises involving Sukhois and Jaguar fighters in what was seen as a signal to the world that New Delhi's defence installations were back in good shape.
Many Indian defence experts believe that China has military or intelligence facilities on Myanmar's Coco Islands, a few miles away from India's Diglipur, 185 km (115 miles) north of Port Blair.
Although the Indian naval chief last August said that he believed a Myanmar official statement that there were no such Chinese facilities on Coco, other Indian defence officials feel New Delhi could not let its guard down.
"In the recent past, we noticed a Chinese ship being escorted by two Chinese warships just south of Campbell Bay," Singh said. "However, there is no military threat to the region at all."
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