U.S. ready to sell arms to Indonesia

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that the U.S. was still willing to sell Indonesia new weaponry, particularly for its navy and air force. But he cautioned that democracies must have firm civilian control of their militaries, which must be disciplined for human rights abuses.

Gates praised Jakarta for moving to professionalize its military, which for decades under former President Suharto ruled the archipelago with an iron fist until the dictator was deposed a decade ago.

Although Gates did not criticize the Indonesian military’s current conduct, he emphasized that democracies must investigate and prosecute allegations of corruption or abuse within their armed forces.

“In addition to the importance of civilian control of the military, there cannot be even a taint of corruption or a hint of tolerance for human rights abuses,” Gates told the Indonesian Council on World Affairs.

During the last three years, the Bush administration has moved to lift restrictions on military ties between the two countries, which were first cut after the Indonesian military committed atrocities in East Timor in 1991. Congress has moved to withhold some of the aid until military abuses are accounted for, and human rights groups have argued that the armed forces still are not fully answerable to civilian authorities.

Gates’ address followed meetings with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono. U.S. officials traveling with Gates said he pushed to deepen security ties with Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country and a key ally in the region and a model of the secular Muslim state the Bush administration hopes to replicate elsewhere.

Although Indonesia has become the second-largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the region, at about $15.7 million this year, officials have expressed frustration with the slow pace of U.S. military sales.

Indonesia has discussed acquiring weapons from China and Russia, with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin vowing during a visit here in September to sell Jakarta $1 billion of advanced weaponry.

The discussions with the Russians and Chinese were seen by analysts as a hedge, but Gates said all U.S. restrictions on arms sales to Indonesia were lifted by the Bush administration in November 2005. At a news conference with Gates after their talks, Indonesia’s defense minister said his consideration of non-U.S. weaponry was sound acquisition policy.

peter.spiegel@latimes.com