Indonesia-US Relations In The Context Of President Obama's Visit
Indonesia-US Relations In The Context Of President Obama's Visit Indonesia is the second stopover after India in President Barack Obama’s four-nation tour of Asia that also includes South Korea and Japan. The much deferred visit to the leading ASEAN member state with the largest Muslim population in the world is important beyond mere symbolism. It represents the United States’ attempt to redefine its role in Asia at a time when its strategic and economic clout was beginning to be questioned. From the world’s largest democracy to the third largest, President Obama (representing the second largest democracy) arrived on November 9 in a country which was dominated by authoritarian Suharto until his resignation in May 1998. Indonesia had opted for ‘democracy first’ as a desirable domestic paradigm in preference to ‘security first’. Obama’s Indonesia visit occurs two days after neighbouring Myanmar held its elections and had yet to make a clear transition. Despite fears that Obama...