China Eyes Economic, Military Ties With Indonesia

CNS News, October 02, 2002

China Eyes Economic, Military Ties With Indonesia

By Patrick Goodenough, Pacific Rim Bureau Chief

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - China and Indonesia are putting historical
differences behind them and pursuing economic and military cooperation, in a
development some analysts believe may come at the expense of the United States.

China's concerns about expanding U.S. military presence in the Central Asian
Republics to its west, they say, may be prompting Beijing to retaliate by focusing on
nations in Southeast Asia, traditionally a U.S. sphere of influence.

But China is also likely to be driven by its rivalry with Taiwan, which has begun to
look to Southeast Asia for economic and political allies.

Relations between Indonesia and China were cool during the three-decade tenure
of Gen. Suharto, an anti-communist who was named president after a 1965 coup
attempt blamed on communists.

In subsequent purges in which hundreds of thousands of suspected communists

were killed, many Chinese were targets of mob violence.

As a result, diplomatic relations with China were severed in 1967 and only restored
in 1990. Suharto stepped down in 1998.

Gas, weapons

Late last week, the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) signed a $8.5
billion contract to buy liquefied natural gas from a project in Indonesia's remote
eastern region of Papua to supply China's Fujian province over the next 25 years.

Pumping of the liquefied natural gas to a terminal to be built on the Chinese coast
opposite Taiwan is due to begin around 2006-7.

Indonesia has abundant oil and gas reserves, and China faces a huge demand for
energy in the years to come.

Indonesian oil minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the deal would "cement the
growing economic and social ties between our two countries."

"With a lot of issues the international community says that Indonesia is not safe but
the fact we signed the contract shows the trust ... and confidence of the government
of China," he added.

In recent years Indonesia's stability has been called into question by a series of
bloody Christian-Muslim conflicts and separatist rebellions, including one in Papua.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. last year, the country has been viewed warily
by officials in the U.S. and its neighbors in Singapore and Malaysia, who suspect al-
Qaeda-linked terrorists have been active there.

Jakarta's ties with its traditional ally in Washington were also strained when military-
inspired violence erupted in East Timor after the predominantly Catholic territory
voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

The U.S. - which was Indonesia's mains weapons supplier following the 1965 coup -
halted government-sponsored and commercial weapons sales to Jakarta, and
bilateral military training programs were stopped.

Washington is edging back toward resuming military ties, but the process is
complicated by continuing concerns about human rights abuses by the military and
a lack of accountability.

Indonesia said the U.S. ban on weapons sales had left it short of spare parts, and
many of its U.S.-made transport and fighter planes had to be been grounded as a
result.

It was also hampering security forces' ability to carry out missions in places like
Maluku, where thousands were dying in Christian-Muslim violence, officials
complained.

Shortly after the embargo was imposed, Indonesian military chiefs were quoted as
saying they would have to develop military ties with China in an attempt to
overcome equipment shortages caused by the ban.

Those efforts recently stepped up a gear, with a visit to Indonesia by China's military
chief, Gen. Chi Hoatian, and other top military brass.

After meeting the general in Jakarta two weeks ago, Indonesian military head Gen.
Endriartono Sutarto told the state-run Antara news agency Indonesia was
discussing weapons sales and military cooperation with Beijing.

"Indonesia will not continue to be dependent on one source, which has imposed an
embargo for the past few years," he said.

Sutarto has been invited to China to see the military equipment on offer.

Chi also met President Megawati Sukarnoputri and reiterated China's desire to
expand ties with Jakarta.

Keeping Taiwan in check

Officials from both sides also made the expected political statements, declaring
support for each other's territorial integrity.

Thus China expressed sympathy for Jakarta's efforts to keep the disparate
archipelago together, while Indonesia said it backed the "one China" policy.

That policy regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has reunification with the
mainland as its goal.

Taiwan has in recent months been exerting its independence and fighting Beijing's
attempts to isolate it diplomatically.

The island democracy's vice-president, Annette Lu, paid a visit to Indonesia last
August - a visit that so upset China that it successfully urged Megawati not to meet
with Lu.

At the time, a Taiwanese daily reported that Taipei also wanted to sign a deal to buy
$11.7 billion worth of liquefied natural gas over 25 years, and that Indonesia was
interested.

Jian Yang, a China expert at the University of Auckland, said while China naturally
wants to strengthen its influence in southeast Asia - a move that might be at the
expense of players like the U.S. and Japan - "I do not think this kind of strategic
calculation is Beijing's primary objective, at least at this stage."

Yang said the Taiwan issue was a pressing one for China.

"Many of the regional countries are lured by economic benefits that Taiwan could
provide," he said. "Beijing's closer relations with these countries may firm up their
stance on the 'one China' policy."

Beijing was also attempting to alleviate any concerns southeast Asian nations may
have that China posed an economic or military threat to them, Yang added.

According to the Texas-based independent analysis organization, Stratfor, Beijing

appears to have been offered a unique opportunity to improve relations with Asian
countries because of "Washington's preoccupation with Iraq and the anti-terrorism
war."

From Indonesia's point of view, it had become apparent that the U.S. remained
unsure of Indonesia's military, it said. "Beijing is exploiting the Indonesian military's
frustration with the continuing U.S. arms embargo."

Stratfor said Washington's anti-terror campaign has also proven to be a divisive

issue in Indonesia.

Predominantly Muslim Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country, after
China, India and the U.S.

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China Eyes Economic, Military Ties With Indonesia

By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com Pacific Rim Bureau Chief
October 02, 2002

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - China and Indonesia are putting historical
differences behind them and pursuing economic and military cooperation, in a
development some analysts believe may come at the expense of the United States.

China's concerns about expanding U.S. military presence in the Central Asian Republics
to its west, they say, may be prompting Beijing to retaliate by focusing on nations in
Southeast Asia, traditionally a U.S. sphere of influence.

But China is also likely to be driven by its rivalry with Taiwan, which has begun to look
to Southeast Asia for economic and political allies.

Relations between Indonesia and China were cool during the three-decade tenure of Gen.
Suharto, an anti-communist who was named president after a 1965 coup attempt blamed
on communists.

In subsequent purges in which hundreds of thousands of suspected communists were

killed, many Chinese were targets of mob violence.

As a result, diplomatic relations with China were severed in 1967 and only restored in
1990. Suharto stepped down in 1998.

Gas, weapons

Late last week, the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) signed a $8.5 billion
contract to buy liquefied natural gas from a project in Indonesia's remote eastern region
of Papua to supply China's Fujian province over the next 25 years.

Pumping of the liquefied natural gas to a terminal to be built on the Chinese coast
opposite Taiwan is due to begin around 2006-7.

Indonesia has abundant oil and gas reserves, and China faces a huge demand for energy
in the years to come.

Indonesian oil minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the deal would "cement the growing
economic and social ties between our two countries."

"With a lot of issues the international community says that Indonesia is not safe but the
fact we signed the contract shows the trust ... and confidence of the government of
China," he added.
In recent years Indonesia's stability has been called into question by a series of bloody
Christian-Muslim conflicts and separatist rebellions, including one in Papua.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. last year, the country has been viewed warily by
officials in the U.S. and its neighbors in Singapore and Malaysia, who suspect al-Qaeda-
linked terrorists have been active there.

Jakarta's ties with its traditional ally in Washington were also strained when military-
inspired violence erupted in East Timor after the predominantly Catholic territory voted
for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

The U.S. - which was Indonesia's mains weapons supplier following the 1965 coup -
halted government-sponsored and commercial weapons sales to Jakarta, and bilateral
military training programs were stopped.

Washington is edging back toward resuming military ties, but the process is complicated
by continuing concerns about human rights abuses by the military and a lack of
accountability.

Indonesia said the U.S. ban on weapons sales had left it short of spare parts, and many of
its U.S.-made transport and fighter planes had to be been grounded as a result.

It was also hampering security forces' ability to carry out missions in places like Maluku,
where thousands were dying in Christian-Muslim violence, officials complained.

Shortly after the embargo was imposed, Indonesian military chiefs were quoted as saying
they would have to develop military ties with China in an attempt to overcome equipment
shortages caused by the ban.

Those efforts recently stepped up a gear, with a visit to Indonesia by China's military
chief, Gen. Chi Hoatian, and other top military brass.

After meeting the general in Jakarta two weeks ago, Indonesian military head Gen.
Endriartono Sutarto told the state-run Antara news agency Indonesia was discussing
weapons sales and military cooperation with Beijing.

"Indonesia will not continue to be dependent on one source, which has imposed an
embargo for the past few years," he said.

Sutarto has been invited to China to see the military equipment on offer.

Chi also met President Megawati Sukarnoputri and reiterated China's desire to expand
ties with Jakarta.

Keeping Taiwan in check

Officials from both sides also made the expected political statements, declaring support
for each other's territorial integrity.

Thus China expressed sympathy for Jakarta's efforts to keep the disparate archipelago
together, while Indonesia said it backed the "one China" policy.

That policy regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has reunification with the
mainland as its goal.

Taiwan has in recent months been exerting its independence and fighting Beijing's
attempts to isolate it diplomatically.

The island democracy's vice-president, Annette Lu, paid a visit to Indonesia last August -
a visit that so upset China that it successfully urged Megawati not to meet with Lu.

At the time, a Taiwanese daily reported that Taipei also wanted to sign a deal to buy $11.7
billion worth of liquefied natural gas over 25 years, and that Indonesia was interested.

Jian Yang, a China expert at the University of Auckland, said while China naturally wants
to strengthen its influence in southeast Asia - a move that might be at the expense of
players like the U.S. and Japan - "I do not think this kind of strategic calculation is
Beijing's primary objective, at least at this stage."

Yang said the Taiwan issue was a pressing one for China.

"Many of the regional countries are lured by economic benefits that Taiwan could
provide," he said. "Beijing's closer relations with these countries may firm up their stance
on the 'one China' policy."

Beijing was also attempting to alleviate any concerns southeast Asian nations may have
that China posed an economic or military threat to them, Yang added.

According to the Texas-based independent analysis organization, Stratfor, Beijing appears

to have been offered a unique opportunity to improve relations with Asian countries
because of "Washington's preoccupation with Iraq and the anti-terrorism war."

From Indonesia's point of view, it had become apparent that the U.S. remained unsure of
Indonesia's military, it said. "Beijing is exploiting the Indonesian military's frustration
with the continuing U.S. arms embargo."

Stratfor said Washington's anti-terror campaign has also proven to be a divisive issue in
Indonesia.

Predominantly Muslim Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country, after
China, India and the U.S.
Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Indonesia to pursue military cooperation with Russia and China
By BBC Monitoring Service
Nov 25, 2004, 18:53

Source: Republika, Jakarta,

in Indonesian 25 Nov 04 p 11

Jakarta: Indonesia has elected to enter into military cooperation with Russia and China.
According to Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono, both China and Russia had offered.

"The president said that a meeting to explore technical support under military cooperation
agreements with Russia and China will be convened shortly," said

Juwono, after the opening of 'Indo Defence Expo and Forum-2004' at the Jakarta Fair Ground in
Kemayoran on Wednesday (24 November).

The defence minister said that both of these countries had actively approached Indonesia with
regard to entering into military cooperation. "This is not being done by other countries. Some
countries were still sounding out the possibility though". Outside of Russia and China, Indonesia
has not made any agreements on military hardware with any other countries despite the large
number of countries participating in the exhibition.

The option to progress military cooperation with Russia and China was being taken up for various
reasons. The US was still refusing to lift its weapons embargo. The conditions set by the US, said
the Defence Minister, were unacceptable to Indonesia.

However, Juwono said that Indonesia was still considering the importance of military cooperation
with the US in terms of technology for the Air Force (AU) and the Navy (AL). Therefore, although
the US domestic political situation was hostile, the government would continue to try and
convince Washington that equipment assistance for TNI [Indonesian National Military Forces] was
important. "Assistance to acquire equipment will actually save lives and strengthen human rights.
If TNI is not given satisfactory equipment and hardware, there will be more human rights
violations going on," he said.

Juwono assured that the human rights violations that occurred in Indonesia were not conducted
using weapons obtained from the US. Ironically, some people in the international community
linked US weapons to cases of human rights violations.

With academics

Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono [SBY] called on the Defence Department, TNI
and police to cooperate with academics and the industrial sector to improve weapons technology.
"I am asking the Defence Department, TNI and the police, as our strategy and policy makers, to
continue to cooperate with academia and industry through their research and development
centres. With such pillars of support, we can improve our technological capacity significantly in
the years to come," said the president when opening the Defence and Security Industry
Exhibition, yesterday.
Besides cooperation in the military field, the president added that the Defence Department, TNI
and police, could cooperate in research and development and ultimately the transfer of
technology. "We certainly still need the technical support from military cooperation but I want the
cooperation with these countries in years to come to also encompass research and development
and later on the transfer of technology".

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated that he was proud of the domestic defence industry
because it had succeeded in improving the quality of its products. "Keep up the good work,
continue to do some highly innovative research and development," he said.

The Indo Defence Expo and Forum-2004 is running from Wednesday until Saturday at the
Jakarta Fair Ground in Kemayoran. The exhibition, which was opened by President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono was designed as medium for exchanging information and knowledge about
current defence systems and technology.

Over 250 companies from 24 countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, the
Netherlands, Poland, Russia, South Korea, France and Canada, are participating in the Expo.

Copyright 2003-2005 by watchPAPUA

Paper no. 1354 29. 04. 2005

INDONESIA: Relations with China on the rise

by C. S. Kuppuswamy

The leaders of Indonesia and China signed agreements on 25 April 2005 to establish
a strategic partnership between the two nations focusing on politics, security,
trade, investment and social affairs. This fits in the overall objective of China in
displaying its policy of peaceful rise

President Hu Jintao of China was on a state visit to Jakarta in connection with the
Afro-Asian Summit. On the next day after the summit he signed an array of
agreements with his Indonesian counter part President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Hu said this demonstrates not only that Sino-Indonesian relations have entered a
new development stage, but will also promote the Sino-ASEAN relations.

Referring to the agreements, President Susilo remarked The agreements mark a

new historic milestone in our relations. The meeting with President Hu was very
productive with concrete results that can be followed up at the ministerial level.

Indonesia is the worlds most populous Muslim nation and is known for its
anathema towards communism. Diplomatic relations between Indonesia and China
were broken in 1967 as China was alleged to have supported an attempted coup by
the Communist Party of Indonesia.. Though the relations were restored in 1990, it
was more formal and on a low key. China was also unhappy with frequent violence
against ethnic Chinese in Indonesia.

Some details of the agreements now entered into and their likely outcome are as
under:

Bilateral trade would reach US $ 20 billion over the next three years
from the current US $ 14 billion.

Besides some partnership agreements, both countries signed

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on maritime cooperation, infra
structure and natural resources cooperation.

A US$ 30 million grant by China for economic and technical

cooperation.

A Joint Indonesia-China project for the construction of a friendship

village for tsunami victims in Aceh and Nias.

An agreement was signed on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic

and service passports.

An agreement on cooperation between Indonesias Meteorology and

Geophysics Agency and Chinas administration in relation to earthquake
and tsunami disasters.

China would pump in more than US $ 10 billion private sector

investments this year.

The agreement on maritime cooperation could include joint efforts to