US, Indonesia, Continue to Bolster Military Ties
But a cautious Jakarta stays close to China, its biggest trading partner
By: Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat and M. Habib Pashya
In late June, Jakarta and Washington began joint construction of a US$3.5 million military facility on Batam, an island 40 km south of Singapore, the latest development in a growing relationship between the United States and Indonesia involving strategic routes in the South China Sea and the Malacca Strai…