Research On The U.S. Foreign Policy Towards Indonesia In 1974-1976 Which Centered On The East Timor Crisism

Because of the unique geo-strategic position of Indonesia, after World War Ⅱ,the U.S. policy towards Indonesia changed from playing attention in Truman administration to “double track” policy in Eisenhower administration. When Kennedy became the master of the White House, the U.S. made a special“neutrality” policy to Indonesia. The policy of Nixon administration to Indonesia had evolved from the perspective of “stabilization”. In the policy of America to Southeast Asia, the position of Indonesia played more important role. After the Vietnam War, the policy of the U.S. toward Indonesia became the cornerstone of the U.S. strategy that stabilized the Southeast Asia and contained the Communist-bloc.The substance of the U.S. policy toward Indonesia turned into drawing Indonesia to its side and maintaining the strategic friendly cooperative relationship between the U.S. and Indonesia.Due to the national independent movement led by Fretlin that against the Portuguese colonist, the East Timor crisis broke out in 1975, causing intervention of the great powers. Eventually, Indonesia invaded and occupied the East Timor. To achieve the goals of the global strategy of the Cold War and, as the benchmark,maximization of the national interests, the United States carried out the acquiescence,support and increasing assistance policy toward Indonesia from the outbreak of the crisis in the year of 1975 to Indonesian occupation of the East Timor.The U.S. Policy to Indonesia during the East Timor crisis deeply influenced by international configuration of the Cold War and the regional factors in Southeast Asia. The global strategy of America turned into the time of strategic contraction because of the failure in the Vietnam War. The international strategic pattern of the predominance of the Soviet Union determined that the U.S. had to carry out the strategic defensive. After withdrawing the troops from Vietnam, America only relied more on Indonesia to achieve the goals of stabilization of Southeast Asia. Therefore,the United States carried out the acquiescence to Indonesia invasion of East Timor.The breaks of the Oil Crisis aggravated the relative decline of the U.S. economy.Trying to make use of the affect of Indonesia in the OPEC, to stabilize the International Crude Oil Price, was another crucial reason why America made a compromise to Indonesia. In addition, being hostile to the left tendency of theFretilin was an important ideological factor that the U.S. supported Indonesia. The U.S. also took some actions to defuse the oppositions to Indonesia invasion of East Timor which from the countries like Portugal, and meanwhile, it should consider the attitude of Australia.During the crisis and occupation, it caused serious humanitarian disaster in the East Timor, which impeded the process of state independence of East Timor. Until the year of 2002, East Timor Republic was finally been founded. The invasion made Indonesia carrying a heavy burden of international moral obligation and economy.During the East Timor crisis, the pragmatism policy of the U.S. towards Indonesia reached the goal of stabilizing the strategic interests of America in Southeast Asia,but, on the other hand, it revealed that the principles and slogans held by the United States, such as defending international law, national self-determination, democracy,human rights, are just obedient to its realistic foreign policy.