Michael Richardson: US and Australia hope aid will find favour with Muslims

SINGAPORE - Like huge numbers of their citizens, the leaders of the United States and Australia who attended the special summit in Jakarta last week on the tsunami disaster were moved by the scale of the tragedy.

Visiting Indonesia's Aceh province shortly before the summit, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, a former armed forces chief and veteran of several wars, said he had never seen anything like the horror caused by the earthquake and seismic waves that devastated the coastline of northern Sumatra, killing more than 100,000 people.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said no natural disaster in his lifetime had touched Australians as much as the tsunami tragedy.

But policymakers in the US and its close ally were also quick to see the potential for improving their sometimes tense relations with the world's fourth most populous nation by using their armed forces as a spearhead to rescue people, deliver relief and help start clear the wreckage.

In Washington and Canberra, Indonesia is seen as a linchpin of stability in Southeast Asia and an important guardian of international shipping straits that not only carry vital trade and energy supplies but also enable the US to send warships from its Pacific fleet by the shortest routes to the Indian Ocean and the volatile but oil-rich Gulf.

Indonesia - which has more Muslims than any other country - is also seen as a key player in efforts to counter terrorism.

It is the heartland of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist movement, an al Qaeda affiliate responsible for the Bali bombings and the attacks on the Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

New Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former Army general, has expressed determination to crack down on terrorism.

Although Indonesia has an overwhelming majority of Muslims, it is a mosaic of ethnic groups and religions.

US officials have said it has the potential to be a global beacon of moderate Islam, democracy and growth.

For the Bush Administration, the disaster is an opportunity to show a compassionate US face when it is embroiled in Iraq and the fight against terrorism, and struggling with a loss of moral authority around the globe, especially among Muslims. By committing large financial and military resources in Indonesia, the Administration is seeking to send a message that it is a friend, not an enemy, of Islam.

Powell warned that a failed reconstruction effort could result in victims turning to extremism.

"If nations are poor, if they don't see hope, if they're riddled by disease, if no one is helping them, then radicalism takes over, they lose faith in democracy and they start turning in other directions. This is an investment not only in the welfare of these people, which in and of itself is a good thing to do; it's an investment in our own national security."

The US has pledged US$350 million ($504 million) in Government aid for tsunami emergency relief and longer-term reconstruction. US citizens and corporations have donated more than US$337 million to relief efforts.

The US military has sent 14,000 service personnel and 19 naval ships, with 40 cargo and patrol planes and more than 50 helicopters to help affected countries. Much of this is directed to Indonesia.

So, too, with Australia's response.

The Australian military has been prominent in Sumatra and Howard announced in Jakarta that he had agreed with Yudhoyono to establish an Australia-Indonesia partnership for reconstruction and development.

The Australian Government will contribute A$1 billion ($1.09 billion) over five years - the largest single aid contribution made by Canberra.

These funds - half in non-repayable grants and half in interest-free, long-term loans - will be as well as Australia's existing development co-operation programme and will bring its commitment to Indonesia to A$1.8 billion ($1.96 billion) over five years.

"In addressing the urgent humanitarian needs of those afflicted by the tragedy, it will also serve to bring our countries and peoples closer together," Howard said. "It is a strategic commitment to raise the living standards of the people of Indonesia."

Washington and Canberra clearly believe they have been handed a golden opportunity to make a major anti-terrorism and relationship-building investment in Indonesia.

* The writer, a Herald columnist and former Asia editor of the International Herald Tribune, is a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.