U.S. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Indonesia for talks on terrorism and ways to improve military ties as the United States continues its attempts to hem in China and shore up support among Muslim-majority countries.

The Post reports that Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono “warned” Rumsfeld that Washington risked triggering a backlash if it tried to force its approach to fighting terrorism on the rest of the world. Juwono said he told Rumsfeld that:

….as the largest Muslim country, we are very aware of the perception that the United states is overbearing.

and advised against America trying to force its anti-terrorrism approach on other nations.

It’s best that you leave the main responsibility of anti-terrorist measures to the local government in question and not to be overly insistent about immediate results arriving from your perception of terrorists.

But Sudarsono was at least clear on the need for United States’ weapons technology. He said the normalisation of military relations, after the ending of an embargo first brought on by the East Timor issue in 1999, would enable Indonesia to re-organize its main weaponry systems, specifically the upgrading of F 15 jet-fighters, the purchasing of Hawk aircraft, and engine overhauls for existing A 4 planes among other military hardware stuff.

Rumsfeld later met president Susilo Bambang Yudoyono for 45 minutes yesterday and both men were reported to have agreed on the importance of continuing military ties.

Yudhoyono called for permanent ties between the United States and Indonesian militaries to be re-established. The U.S. lifted its embargo in November 2005 but the measure has yet to be put on a “permanent” basis with some members of Congress still hostile to the move.