The US is investing in the systems, skills and relationships that would matter if access to the Strait of Malacca ever came under pressure
Indonesia says it is not choosing sides. That is true in diplomacy. It is less true on the map. The “major defence cooperation partnership” announced by Washington and Jakarta on April 13 is written in the safe language of official communiques: capacity building, education, exercises, cooperation. But the harder meaning lies beneath the phrasing.
Source: News - South China Morning Post
