Reluctant Partner: Indonesia

Indonesia and the US remain important to each other in a number of ways, but it is the war on terrorism that has come to dominate the relationship, especially from the point of view of Washington. Indonesia has demanded that multi-lateral solutions be found in those cases, and preferably a negotiated settlement to the problem. While reestablishing military-to-military relations within the tram line set by the US Congress is seen in Washington as a means to shore up security, the removal of what Indonesians view as "partial sanctions" would have important practical and symbolic implications.