Indonesia to US: learn some patience

US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wrapped up a three-day Asian tour Tuesday, after military-related meetings with Indonesia and Vietnam and a security conference of Pacific nations.

Mr. Rumsfeld finished his trip in Jakarta, where he discussed renewed military relations between the US and Indonesia with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, reports Antara News. During the meeting, Mr. Yudhoyono " called for permanent ties ... amid alleged attempts in Washington to downgrade the relations."

The US suspended military exchanges with Indonesia and banned weapons sales in reaction to the Indonesian military's alleged involvement in human right abuses during the process of East Timor's secession in 1999.

The two nations partially resumed military exchanges in 2002 as part of anti-terrorism measures after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

In November 2005, the US government restored its military ties with Indonesia by fully lifting an arms embargo imposed on Indonesia. But the US policy was based on the US Department of State's right in the Congress and was applicable only to fiscal 2006.

The New York Times reports that Indonesian officials also took the opportunity to chastise the US as "overbearing," particularly in regard to the war on terror. At a news conference with Rumsfeld at his side, Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said, "In the application of security, including anti-terrorist laws, it's best that [the US] leave the main responsibility of anti-terrorist measures to the local government in question."

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An important lesson in the fight against terrorism, Sudarsono said, was the need to show some patience. Washington, he said, should not be so insistent on achieving immediate results at the expense of local sensitivities.

"So I was telling the secretary just recently, just two minutes ago, that your powerful economy and your powerful military does lend to misperception and a sense of threat by many groups right across the world, not just in Indonesia," Sudarsono said at the news conference.

His remarks prompted a response by Rumsfeld, who insisted he has been sensitive to other nations' concerns from the start. "I have never indicated to any country that they should do something that they were uncomfortable doing," he said.

Mr. Sudarsono also suggested Indonesia might offer limited support for the Proliferation Security Initiative, an international arrangement that would allow the US and its allies to intercept cargo ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction. Previously, Indonesia had rejected participation in the initiative as a threat to its sovereignty.

Reuters reports that Rumsfeld called new military ties " good for both countries." However, Reuters also cited Dana Dillon of the Heritage Institute, noting Indonesia has domestic Muslim extremists to worry about, and thus faces "risks in appearing too close to US policies."

In an editorial, The Jakarta Post notes that Indonesia is "a friend of the United States, but not an ally," and says US criticism of Indonesia's human rights abuses in East Timor is undermined by the US's own abuses of terrorism suspects.

Both Indonesia and the US have been the victims of terrorism. And while the United States has in the past frequently criticized Indonesia's human rights record, it might not be too strong to say that Indonesia now treats terrorist suspects more humanely and more fairly than the US. Indonesia, for example, takes suspected terrorists to court, a step very often ignored by Washington.

At least morally, the US is no longer in a position to preach about how we should conduct our war on terror. We also hope the US administration will consider the sensitivity here when it comes to issues related to Islam, and at least not create new problems for the Yudhoyono administration in eliminating the roots of terrorism.

Officials say the expansion of US-Vietnamese military contacts will begin slowly, with a small number of Vietnamese officers coming to a US military base in Texas to study English. Officials say that will be followed by medical training for Vietnamese soldiers, help on removing land mines, and increased cooperation in the effort to find American and Vietnamese troops missing from the war.

The New York Times reports that China's growing influence is a major factor in the new military cooperation between Hanoi and Washington.

The Pentagon has been increasingly concerned over China's growing military strength. And Vietnam has its own reasons for trying to establish more balance with its neighbor to the north.

Still, the Vietnamese have moved deliberately. "They have China next door to them and they're careful to keep good relations with China and they want a balance in relations with us and relations with China," said a senior Pentagon official, who asked not to be identified because discussions between Vietnam and the United States are largely confidential.

Rumsfeld used last year's Shangri-La forum to sound the alarm about China's rising military spending and secrecy about its budget and strategy, angering Beijing.

Revisiting that theme gently on Saturday, he said the Chinese had the right to spend on the military as they saw fit but would "benefit by demystifying to some extent the reasons why they are investing in what they are investing in."

The Financial Times (subscription required) also noted that in advocating openness and inclusiveness in Pacific military affairs, Rumsfeld was " more than usually mild in his rhetoric and accommodating in his policy pronouncements" during the forum.

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• Feedback appreciated. E-mail Arthur Bright.