Indonesia rejected US request to host spy planes: Officials

[Nilgiri]

Indonesia rejected US request to host spy planes: Officials

JAKARTA: Indonesia rejected this year a proposal by the United States to allow its P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance planes to land and refuel there, according to four senior Indonesian officials familiar with the matter.US officials made multiple "high-level" approaches in July and Au

www.channelnewsasia.com

JAKARTA: Indonesia rejected this year a proposal by the United States to allow its P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance planes to land and refuel there, according to four senior Indonesian officials familiar with the matter.

US officials made multiple "high-level" approaches in July and August to Indonesia's defence and foreign ministers before Indonesia's president, Joko Widodo, rebuffed the request, the officials said.

Representatives for Indonesia's president and defence minister, the US State Department press office and the US embassy in Jakarta did not respond to requests for comment.

Representatives for the US Department of Defence and Indonesia's foreign minister Retno Marsudi declined to comment.


The proposition, which came as the US and China escalated their contest for influence in Southeast Asia, surprised Indonesia's government, the officials said, because Indonesia has a long-standing policy of foreign policy neutrality.

The country has never allowed foreign militaries to operate there.

(more at link)

 

[Cabatli_TR]

Indonesia-US relations are getting worse ? What’s the actual reason of rejection?

 

[Saithan]

Indonesia-US relations are getting worse ? What’s the actual reason of rejection?

I would take a guess at economics. Considering that China may be posting a lot of money into Indonesia and US just expects to be able waltz in get what the want, doesn't seem to work.

 

[Nilgiri]

Indonesia-US relations are getting worse ? What’s the actual reason of rejection?

I think Indonesia just wants to hit pause for a while and not change status quo of their official neutral precedence too much (i.e start things more discreetly first and see if China backs down from its aggressiveness in natuna islands etc).

Also it cannot be denied that China is large economic partner/investor into Indonesia....so Indonesia likely wants to achieve some balance in relations with that in mind.

 

[Gary]

Indonesia-US relations are getting worse ? What’s the actual reason of rejection?

Nope, actually there are an increase of military cooperation between the two countries

 

[Nilgiri]

Nope, actually there are an increase of military cooperation between the two countries

Yeah indonesian defence minister is visiting US and stuff...big breakthrough there. It reminded me somewhat of the Modi situation.

 

[Gary]

What’s the actual reason of rejection?

There's no real reason other than the fact that we never let others base their troops here. Not the Soviet's, not the Chinese during Sukarno bromance with both , not the US during the Days of Suharto and certainly not now.

 

[Gary]

Yeah indonesian defence minister is visiting US and stuff...big breakthrough there. It reminded me somewhat of the Modi situation.

people tend to forget that there are more joint Indonesia-US bilateral exercise than that of US-Singapore, US-Thailand last year

 

[Madokafc]

Jakarta for sure trying to hold many backdoor relationship