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US Eyes Greater Influence in Hit Asia
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Powell
(L) and Indonesian Social Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab speak to
reporters at the airport in Banda Aceh. (Reuters)
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WASHINGTON,
January 5 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A massive US-led
relief operation in tsunami-hit Asia is expected to give the American
military greater clout in the region, according to analysts, as US
Secretary of State Colin Powell pledged to increase his nation's
military relief efforts to Indonesia.
Backed
by an array of US warships, planes and helicopters, more than 13,000
US
military personnel have been dispatched to help
Indonesia
,
Thailand
and
Sri Lanka
, the countries most affected by the December 26 disaster, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported Wednesday, January 5.
Conducting
its largest operation in Asia since the Vietnam War, the
US
military could remain in the region for up to six months, analysts
told AFP.
The
mammoth humanitarian effort would ease concerns among Asian
governments suspicious over American military ambitions and help gain
their backing in the US-led “war on terror,” they added.
“It's
pretty impressive what the Americans are able to do with their
military and if handled appropriately and carefully, it could lead to
a better, more cooperative military relationship with the region,”
said Robert Sutter, visiting professor of Asian studies at
Georgetown
University
.
“The
message that hopefully is getting across is that Americans are not
just out blasting terrorists. They are people with concerns and can
help in a military way,” he said.
Before
the tsunami disaster, it would have been unthinkable for a
US
aircraft carrier to dock in
Indonesia
's waters, or US Marines to rub shoulders with troops from the world's
most populous Muslim nation, AFP said.
Washington
had banned key military cooperation with
Indonesia
because of “human rights” disputes, but the disaster has now
brought the armed forces of both countries together in a major relief
operation.
The
USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier with 6,000 sailors on board,
is currently stationed about 28 kilometers (15 nautical miles) off
Indonesia's Aceh province providing aid and sending ashore medical
teams.
A
fleet of Sea Hawk helicopters from the Abraham Lincoln has also been
flying food, water and medical supplies into Aceh, where until the
tsunami most foreigners were barred because of Indonesian fears about
possible outside aid to rebels waging an independence struggle.
Opportunity
“One
does not speak of a tragedy as an ‘opportunity’ but this has,
accidentally, become the case as US strategists and analysts are
viewing -- without saying so publicly or privately -- the tsunami
tragedy affecting Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and other countries as
a means to repair the damaged relations with the Islamic world,”
Bernama news agency said.
The
Malaysian news agencies added that the first sign of the perceived
opportunity came when (
US
) President George W. Bush made a complete turnaround in his response
to the call for providing urgent relief assistance to the affected
countries.
“Just
48 hours after announcing the ‘drop-in-the-bucket’ assistance of
$35 million for the entire tsunami-affected region, the Bush
administration decided to hike its relief aid to $350 million, and
announced that it was sending Secretary of State Colin Powell and the
President's brother, Jeb Bush, the
Florida
governor, to the affected states.”
It further said “While the gesture to help, initially, seemed to be
somewhat half-hearted -- indeed, the Bush administration was
criticized for being very slow in not only putting together a
substantial relief aid package but also in formally expressing
condolences to the bereaved people -- experts say that the President
now has an opportunity to make up for damage done to relations with
the affected nations, particularly Indonesia, which has the world's
largest Muslim population and is considered a democracy”.
Full
Military Ties
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Powell
(center left) , under heavy security, walks towards a tent
hospital at Banda Aceh airport. (AP)
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US
Rear Admiral Doug Crowder told the Washington
Post he expected the joint efforts to improve prospects for
resuming full military ties with
Indonesia
.
The
government of Bush has sought to restore military links, but the US
Congress has repeatedly blocked the effort.
“This
relief effort demonstrates there could be greater military cooperation
with
Indonesia
,” Dana Dillon, an analyst with the conservative Heritage
Foundation, told the
US
daily.
US
marines arrived in
Sri Lanka
on Tuesday for a deployment that will eventually total 1,500 troops --
reportedly much to the chagrin of giant neighbor
India
, suspicious of US military intentions.
“
Sri Lanka
had been seeking
US
military aid for some time because of an ongoing civil war with the
Tamil Tigers, but the American side had been reluctant,” noted
Dillon.
Part
of
Sri Lanka
's tsunami devastated areas are controlled by the rebel Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which
Washington
has designated as a terrorist group.
US
forces are also using
Thailand
's Vietnam war-era air base of Utapao as an airlift hub for the
humanitarian mission in the region, strengthening potential
US
military logistical support throughout southeast Asia.
Thailand
and the
Philippines
are key
US
military allies in the region.
Singapore
hosts a permanent site for US navy ships to dock for maintenance,
repairs, supplies, and rest and recreation for the crew.
But
the
United States
has been unable to expand its military influence in the region largely
due to suspicions by
Indonesia
and
Malaysia
.
The
two countries have opposed an American plan to tighten security in the
vital Malacca Straits shipping lanes, which might have involved elite
US
troops stationed nearby.
Derek
Mitchell of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a
Washington-based think tank, said the tsunami disaster underlined the
importance of
US
military presence in the region.
He
cited particularly the American military base in
Okinawa
, from where resources were tapped rapidly for the humanitarian
effort.
“The
United States
has this unique capability to move rapidly with its military to take
care of humanitarian and other security challenges in
Asia
,” Mitchell said.
“In
the absence of this capability which isn't nearly there in Asia, the
United States
plays this indispensable role.”
“Extra
Aid”
Meanwhile,
Powell pledged Wednesday to increase his nation's military relief
efforts to
Indonesia
after witnessing first hand the devastation from the tsunami in Aceh
that has claimed more than 94,000 lives.
Powell
said the scenes of destruction during a short flight aboard a US Sea
Hawk helicopter above the province's capital of Banda Aceh, where at
least 30,000 people have died, gave him a shocking insight into the
tragedy.
“In
the course of my career I've been in war and I've been through a
number of hurricanes, tornadoes and other relief operations but I have
never seen anything like this,” Powell told reporters after the
flight.
“I
cannot begin to imagine the horror that went through the families and
all of the people who heard this noise coming and then had their lives
snuffed out by these waves,” said the retired four-star general who
was once chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Powell
said the three-hour visit to Aceh had given him a better understanding
of what
Indonesia
needed and the sense of urgency required in clearing the backlog of
aid at the Banda Aceh airport.
“We
will be increasing the number of helicopters that would be available
to support TNI (Indonesian Armed Forces) and Indonesian
authorities,” he said.
“We
will respond to requests we get from the Indonesian authorities for
shelter, materials, food.”
Summit
Powell's
trip to Banda Aceh came a day ahead of an emergency summit in
Jakarta
of world leaders and donor organizations to discuss global
coordination of the relief effort for all nations affected by the
tsunami disaster.
UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan landed in
Jakarta
Wednesday morning for the summit, with the leaders of
Japan
,
China
,
Australia
,
New Zealand
and most Southeast Asian nations either already in the city or
preparing to fly in.
Establishing
a tsunami warning system for the
Indian Ocean
will be a priority for the leaders, while Annan is expected to launch
a fresh appeal for aid and long-term rebuilding strategies will be
discussed.
More
than 146,000 people have been confirmed killed in 11 countries by the
December 26 tsunamis, with
Sri Lanka
,
India
and
Thailand
other nations particularly badly affected.
But
the United Nations has repeatedly warned the death toll will continue
to rise enormously, with most of the extra victims yet to be
unaccounted for in Aceh.
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