Indonesia: U.S. Relations With the Indonesian Military (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Aug. 10, 1998 |
| Report Number |
98-677 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Larry A. Niksch, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Differences between the U.S. executive branch and Congress over U.S. policies toward the
Indonesian military have persisted since the early 1960s. In the early 1960s, Indonesian policies
under President Sukarno, including aggression against neighboring countries and a political alliance
with the Indonesian Communist Party, led Congress to cut military and economic aid to Indonesia.
The Kennedy Administration opposed this action. In the late 1970s, the policies of the Indonesian
military in East Timor drew criticism from U.S. human rights groups and Members of Congress, who
accused the military of violating the human rights of the people of East Timor. The Carter
Administration, on the other hand, sought to deal with the issues of East Timor and political
prisoners through dialogue with the Indonesian government and military.
From these episodes until the present, the executive branch has believed that good relations
with the Indonesian military are necessary to promote U.S. strategic interests, especially U.S. naval
access to the Indonesian straits connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans. Executive branch officials
also argue that the United States needs close contacts with the military in order to influence
Indonesia's political evolution. Critics in Congress, conversely, argue that the United States should
deal with the Indonesian military on the basis of the day to day actions of the military and should
penalize the military when its actions violate human rights or jeopardize U.S. interests in other ways.
In the 1990s, new differences arose between Congress and the Bush and Clinton Administration
over the Indonesian military's massacre of civilians in East Timor in November 1991. Congress
pushed for terminating U.S. military training of Indonesian military personnel and greater limits on
arms sales to Indonesia. The Clinton Administration took an initial cautious approach to the role of
the military in Indonesia's economic-political crisis of 1998, but reports of new human rights
violations led it take several actions to pressure the military, including suspension of training
exercises. Some Members of Congress had criticized the Administration for continuing the training.
