http://www.theage.com.au/world/china-us-eye-regions-plum-prize-indonesia-20101110-17nn1.html
China, US eye region's plum prize, Indonesia Norimitsu Onishi, Jakarta November 11, 2010 LESS than a day before President Barack Obama touched down in Jakarta, a high-level Chinese delegation wrapped up a three-day official visit to Indonesia by announcing that Beijing would invest $US6.6 billion ($A6.57 billion) in infrastructure improvements. The emphasis of the announcement on roads, bridges and canals - not to mention its timing - laid down a not-so-subtle challenge to Mr Obama: show your Indonesian hosts the money. As the US and China step up their rivalry in south-east Asia, Indonesia - officially hewing to a long-standing foreign policy of nonalignment but leaning closer to Washington - represents by far the biggest prize in a region caught uneasily between China's rise and America's renewed engagement. At a news conference with his counterpart, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Mr Obama said the US was not interested in ''containing'' China. But a day after endorsing India's pursuit of a permanent seat on the UN Security Council in a move widely seen as an attempt to check China's growing influence, Mr Obama poured on the charm. US and Chinese officials have been pursuing all 10 countries in the Association of South-East Asian Nations, but none more aggressively than Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, now led by a democratically elected government impatient to raise the country's international profile. The US will have to contend with challenges, old and new. Despite Indonesia's enduring suspicion of China, Beijing has been making great inroads, economically, diplomatically and militarily. And a newly confident Indonesia has been reasserting its independent foreign policy, promoting what it now calls a ''dynamic equilibrium'' for the region. NEW YORK TIMES [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
