09 September 1999 Defense Department Report, Thursday, September 9 (Indonesia/East Timor) (400) U.S. Suspends Military-to-Military Contacts With Indonesia The United States suspended all military-to-military contacts with Indonesia on September 9 due to the violence in East Timor. Rear Admiral Craig Quigley told reporters at the regular Pentagon briefing that "we are suspending our military-to-military relationship with the Indonesian military in light of the current activities." The Indonesian government and military have "the full responsibility to control the situation" there, he said. Quigley noted that the U.S. commander-in-chief of the Pacific Command, Admiral Dennis Blair, delivered the news of the decision to suspend contacts. This means that there will be no planning for any future military exercise activities nor any exchange of military liaison officers, the deputy Pentagon spokesman said. U.S.-Indonesia military contacts have focused on the planning and execution of military exercises, especially with respect to humanitarian aid and civil defense. Explaining the U.S. response further, Quigley said, "It's just inappropriate to continue a military-to-military relationship that, in our view, is not doing enough to contain the violence in East Timor. It's fully within its (Indonesia's) ability to do so, but they're simply not. And, that's not a military that we feel we can sustain a military-to-military relationship with at this point." In response to a question from a reporter, Quigley said there are no plans to send any U.S. ground troops into East Timor, but he did say that there are discussions under way with Australia on its request for possible support for a force it might assemble. Australia is looking for possible U.S. support in the areas of strategic airlift, intelligence, communications or logistics. The deputy spokesman also said the United States has a destroyer and cruiser under way in the Timor Sea between Australia and East Timor as part of a previously planned exercise with Australia called "Crocodile '99." That exercise is scheduled to begin on September 12. A third U.S. vessel, an ammunition ship, will also take part in that exercise. Meanwhile, during testimony at his September 9 reconfirmation hearing, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Henry Shelton told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that the United States needs "to see positive improvement in a very rapid manner" in East Timor because there is a lot at risk in terms of future U.S.-Indonesia military relations.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
