Issue Paper on US Defense Relations with Indonesia
Abstract
The Indonesian archipelago, stretching three thousand miles across the equator from mainland Southeast Asia to the Southwest Pacific, acts as the Northeastern boundary of the Indian Ocean. Even more importantly from a geostrategic point of view, it functions as either a bridge or a barrier, depending on the nature of the relationship with the controlling authority, connecting or separating the East Asian region from Indian Ocean/Persian Gulf domain. The deep-draft navigable straits that permit naval and merchant ship access are, through the application of the "archipelago principle" of jurisdiction over territorial waters and claimed territoriality of the Malacca Straits, subject to whatever degree of constraint that Indonesian authority desires or is capable of enforcing. The United States and Japan have an important interest in promoting relationships with Indonesian authority that will further friendly access to and through the archipelago as that capability increases.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA515426
Entities
People
- Donald E. Weatherbee
Organizations
- United States Army War College