President Abdurrahman Wahid may have sought to cosy back up to the United States during his mission over the past three days, but Washington will be 'sleeping with one eye open' in the months ahead, officials said.
The Indonesian President, on his way home from the US, arrived in Tokyo yesterday for a two-day visit for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and other top officials.
Mr Wahid and his new Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab sought to boost relations with the US in a meeting with President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. But they spelt out in 'no uncertain terms' Jakarta's fresh desire for Eastern rather than Western ties.
Mr Wahid elaborated on his ideas for a new Asian axis between Indonesia, India and China - with Japanese and Singaporean assistance - after years of a perceived over-dominance by the West.
Speaking privately, some Clinton administration officials warned that Mr Wahid's new ideas would be watched extremely closely in the coming months, especially if they appeared to have considerable popular support inside Indonesia.
'We would not want to see anything developing that could be seen as destabilising after such a very delicate period . . . but if it restores a balance and order to the region, there are no problems with it from this end,' one administration source said yesterday.
