Editorial: A Relationship of Equals With the US
The time when the relationship between Indonesia and the United States was imbalanced and unequal is over.
During the Cold War and for several years after the fall of Suharto, Indonesia was seen by the US as just another Muslim-majority country whose role in the region was limited. Human rights violations during the occupation of Timor Leste and violence on the eve of the fall of the New Order regime had given Indonesia a bad name across the world, and also in Washington.
Then, ethnic and religious conflicts across the archipelago created a sense that the country could break up anytime. The Sept. 11 attacks in the US followed by series of bombings in Indonesia, especially the Bali bombings, sent another wrong message to the world: that Indonesia was a terrorist playground.
These difficult years saw Indonesia's dependence on the US grow, and Indonesia's leaders were trying hard to ask the world's biggest economy to convince the world, especially the global business community, that Indonesia was in fact doing fine.
But over the years, Indonesia has proven it doesn't need the US to convince the world. The country's economy has grown 6 percent in the last several years, putting it among the world's 20 biggest economies, with a healthy democracy.
As Asia becomes the source of global growth and China's clout within the region continues to grow — as does the US eagerness to return to the Pacific — Indonesia is too important to ignore. The US now needs Indonesia more than we need the US.
However, the US remains the sole global superpower and it is crucial to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. And US companies remain major investors in Indonesia and contribute to the country's growth and development. If the US can shed the Cold War mentality that seems to have been the basis for large-scale global spying operations, including possibly on Indonesians, our already-strong ties will only grow more robust.
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