The Foreign Service Journal, April 2010

A P R I L 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 13 of the world. The sprawling archipel- ago is the world’s fourth-most populous nation, with the largest Muslim popu- lation. It is also a major voice within the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Strategically situated adjacent to China, its waterways in- clude the world’s busiest shipping lanes. President Obama and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are ex- pected to sign a comprehensive agree- ment including more cooperation on security, education, infrastructure de- velopment and climate change. For Indonesia, trade, military sales, and the opportunity for civilians and military officers to pursue higher education in America top the agenda. For the U.S., stronger ties with Jakarta, which has made significant democratic gains in the past decade, would help facilitate the Obama ad- ministration’s promise of greater diplo- matic engagement with ASEAN and help balance Japan, India and China in the region. It would also help greatly to assure freedom of passage through the strategic Malacca Strait. But as some analysts point out, en- hancing relations with Indonesia re- quires overcoming a series of sticking points. The skepticism with which Jakarta greeted the U.S. identification of Southeast Asia as a “second front in the war on terror” following the 2002 Bali bombing and its effort to deploy counterterrorism forces in the region gave Washington pause. Since then, however, Indonesia has burnished its anti-terror credentials, taking serious steps against al-Qaida-linked cells. The perceived role of U.S. investors in bringing on the 1997-1998 financial crisis that effectively bankrupted In- donesia and the region still resonates there. Widespread mistrust over the U.S. agenda in promoting democracy, economic development and public health persists, as well. This resistance is, in part, a legacy of CIA covert activ- ities in the country to fight communism in the 1960s. “A new and deep U.S.-Indonesian partnership must be given time to de- velop and remain focused on the big picture,” states Heritage Foundation Asia expert Walter Lohman in a back- grounder. “To fully realize American interests, the Obama administration should ad- vance the relationship slowly, keep ex- pectations low, and focus on broad areas of common interests, such as counterterrorism and counter-extrem- ism, economic freedom, the geopoliti- cal shape of the Asia-Pacific, demo- cracy promotion and the efficacy of ASEAN,” Lohman argues. “Small, concrete ‘deliverables’ are useful, but it is more important to have the presi- dent’s stamp on big ideas.” Though it is a democracy with a strong constitutional foundation, In- donesia’s vast island expanse and huge population with rich ethnic intermix- tures makes for a very complex society that does not lend itself to easy inter- pretation. But there are several useful online resources on Indonesia and its relationship with Washington. To follow news developments, see the BBC’s country profile at http:// news.bbc.co.uk/ . The State Department’s country background notes ( www.state.gov ) fill in geography, demographics and history. And the role of radical Islam and and violent extremism in Indone- sia is watched closely by the Interna- tional Crisis Group ( www.crisis group.org ) . The ICG’s most recent report focuses on the easternmost province of Papua. ■ — Susan Brady Maitra C Y B E R N O T E S