US Rapprochement with Indonesia: From Problem State to Partner--a Response‪.‬

Much has been made about the positive state of US-Indonesia ties. The election of Barack Obama as US President in 2008 and the promulgation of the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (CPA) has ushered in a new chapter in relations between the world's second and third largest democracies. Historical impediments are slowly being removed and political prejudices are gradually dissolving, laying the foundation for a stronger cooperative framework. However, nearly half-way into Obama's presidential tenure, and a year past President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's resounding reelection, the enthusiasm towards the bilateral relationship built up since Obama's election seems to have waned. Irrespective of progress on the political front, perceptions of the bilateral relationship has not grown with equal zeal. As explained further in this paper, the multiple cancellations of President Obama's visit to Indonesia, and the decline of the US as a primary destination of study for Indonesian students show that Indonesia-US ties are still a long way from being the envisioned partnership. Despite the optimism generated, US-Indonesia ties are proving yet again to be full of potential, without ever being fully realized.