US moves to reinstate Indonesia military aid

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday she is moving to reinstate US military training assistance for Indonesia, an important step toward restoring full military ties.

Formal military relations were cut with the world's biggest Muslim nation more than a decade ago because of alleged human rights violations by Indonesian forces, although there has been some low-level training cooperation.

The Bush administration tried to revive close ties with Indonesia's military during its first term which ended in January but the effort faltered after two American school teachers were murdered in the province of Papua in 2002.

Investigations by police and non-governmental organisations pointed to Indonesian military involvement in the murders.

The US Congress made any resumption of US military training - called the International Military Education and Training or IMET programme - for Indonesian officers dependent on certification by the secretary of state that Jakarta was helping the FBI investigate the killings.

"I am in the latter stages of consultations with members of Congress about a decision to certify that Indonesia has met the co-operation requirement set forth in the law ... so that it is possible to restore full IMET privileges to Indonesia," Rice told the US Senate Appropriations Committee.

"I think it's a good time to do that. They just had presidential election, a successful democratic exercise in a huge country with a huge Muslim population," she said.

US military aid was cut after Indonesian troops killed 57 demonstrators in East Timor in 1991, when the territory was part of Indonesia.

Some counterterrorism training for Indonesian forces was resumed after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks as Washington sought to enlist Jakarta as an ally in the war on terrorism. But key members of Congress have been concerned that the Indonesian military has not sufficiently improved its rights record.

Rice said Indonesian authorities had been "co-operating well enough (with the FBI) that we've been able to get an indictment in this (school teachers') case. "

Rice gave no figure but IMET funds tend to be modest, belying what supporters say is their significant impact in forging close relations between a highly trained, professional, civilian-led US military and the armies of countries Washington is trying to influence.

Although often overshadowed by other Asian giants like China and Japan, Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation and a key to regional stability which for 50 years had close military ties with the United States.

The tsunami that devastated parts of Indonesia and other Asian nations in December as well as Jakarta's progress in moving from an authoritarian state to a more democratic system has given the administration a new opening to push again for closer US-Indonesia military ties.

Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz visited Indonesia last month to review tsunami damage and announce a desire for closer military ties. Washington made a temporary exception to military aid restrictions to provide spare parts for planes delivering relief to tsunami victims.

- REUTERS