US restores Indonesia military ties

WASHINGTON - Washington has restored military ties with Indonesia as a reward for the most-populous Muslim nation's cooperation against al Qaeda-linked militants, State Department officials said today.

The move comes despite objections from human rights groups that say Indonesia has done too little to punish offenders for the violence in East Timor in 1999 that led to the cooler US-Indonesian military ties.

But the US officials defended the decision, saying the government had made greater efforts to bring justice for the violence and had improved the country's democratic credentials and human rights record.

They also said that while the decision allowed the export of lethal weapons to Indonesia, Washington would still be looking at its rights record in determining whether to go ahead with any sales to the vast archipelago.

"Indonesia is a voice of moderation in the Islamic world," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement on the decision. "Indonesia has made significant progress in advancing its democratic institutions and practices in a relatively short time."

The decision follows agreements earlier in the year to allow exports of nonlethal equipment and revive a small military training program.

"They have increasingly become a key partner for us in counterterrorism," said a State Department official, who asked not to be named because he was elaborating on McCormack's statement.

"This normalisation and the ability to work with Indonesia allows us to prod them into taking more steps on the democratic path and in improving their military regarding rights issues," he added.

Indonesia has suffered a spate of militant bombings and last year was devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Straddling vital shipping routes, Indonesia performs a delicate balancing act between Washington and a populace that opposes America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a US-trained former general who last year became his country's first directly elected president, had lobbied Washington for ties to be restored during a visit in May.

The United States "will help modernise the Indonesian military, provide further incentives for reform of the Indonesian military, and support US and Indonesian security objectives, including counterterrorism, maritime security and disaster relief," McCormack said.

- REUTERS