During US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's meetings in Indonesia this week, she will touch on Washington's main concern about that nation, the world's most populous Muslim country: that it stick to the path of moderation.
She will visit an Islamic primary school, one of many schools in Indonesia now supported with US aid, where she will try to soften the image of the US as anti-Muslim. She will also give a speech praising Indonesia for its rapid switch to democracy.
But alongside what often seems like a one-note US agenda of fighting terrorism, Rice is expected to hear about another overriding interest for both Indonesia and Australia, her next stop. It can be summed up in one word: China.
For Indonesia and Australia, China is not just a rising power as it is often described in Washington, but has already arrived as the regional power that spreads economic benefit. China is driving intra-Asian economic integration through ASEAN, which excludes the US, and by 2010 the region's trade with China is likely to outstrip its trade with the US.
To sweeten the economic bonds, China has not been too pushy in other areas, stepping politely to address its strategic and diplomatic goals as it seeks the affections of surrounding countries, many of which have had longstanding relations with the US.
"China has now established itself as the paramount regional power in Southeast Asia," said Milton Osborne, a former Australian diplomat and scholar on the region at the Lowy Institute of International Affairs in Sydney. "This is widely recognized in Southeast Asia, however people choose to express the idea."
In Indonesia, China has turned on the charm, transforming a relationship that was once fraught with suspicion into a blossoming economic partnership. China's state energy companies have bought into Indonesian oil and natural gas fields in Java and Papua and are expected to bid on tenders for new power plants. Indonesian exports to China in 2004 increased by 232 percent from the previous year.
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