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U.S. looks to improve ties with Indonesian special forces, stage exercises
TIWN
TIWN
PHOTO : TIWN
JAKARTA (Reuters), May 30 (TIWN) - Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan met his Indonesian counterpart on Thursday as the United States looks to improve ties with an Indonesian special forces unit that have been limited due to human rights abuses in the 1990s.
During a trip to Jakarta by Shanahan's predecessor, Jim Mattis, last year, Indonesia said it was hoping he could help ease American limitations on contacts.
The United States announced in 2010 that it had lifted its outright ban on U.S. military contacts with the Indonesian special forces unit, known as Kopassus, which was accused of rights abuses in East Timor as it prepared for independence.
But legal restrictions meant to ensure the U.S. military does not become entangled with rights abusers prevented contacts with Kopassus from advancing beyond preliminary levels, U.S. officials say.
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