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ali’s heat did not prevent US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta from smiling broadly to journalists as he left the room where he had just met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for 45 minutes.

Several minutes later, Yudhoyono also came out of the room, apparently in a friendly and relaxed mood as he greeted the journalists covering the meeting at the Ayodya Hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Monday. He had managed to impress his guest in a meeting that many officials said was the culmination of all his activities in the last seven days.

Immediately after announcing his Cabinet reshuffle last Tuesday, the President flew to Lombok to open the first international airport in West Nusa Tenggara province, then he met with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak before flying to Bali for a series of events that many said should have been attended by ministers, before receiving Panetta.

Although he had no significant duties on Sunday, Yudhoyono postponed his meeting with Panetta to Monday to show the Indonesian public that he was not in Bali specially to meet the US defense chief.

Panetta, who was scheduled to meet with ASEAN defense ministers, including his Indonesian counterpart Purnomo Yusgiantoro in Bali, was reportedly annoyed by the delay as he had previously received confirmation of the meeting with the Indonesian President before leaving for Indonesia, leading to Panetta having to kill time on Sunday.

However, with so many security issues to be discussed, such as bilateral defense and military cooperation, the South China Sea, China’s position in the regional architecture and the Freeport strike and related violence in Papua, Yudhoyono could not hide the importance of the meeting, with almost all of his senior ministers accompanying him.

Besides Purnomo, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Radjasa, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and State Secretary Sudi Silalahi were all alongside the President during his talks with Panetta.

“Panetta must have felt very honored,” a foreign journalist said.

On Sunday, Panetta assured the Indonesian public and Purnomo that the US supported Indonesia’s stance on Papua while praising Indonesia’s handling of the strike at US gold and copper giant Freeport.

He asked Indonesia and ASEAN to help the US improve relations with China.

During the meeting on Monday, Panetta did not mention Papua, only telling Yudhoyono that the US would strengthen its involvement in Asia.

“Indonesia and ASEAN matter to the US,” Djoko said.

Purnomo said that the US would help Indonesia and ASEAN to secure their maritime territories, including those in the South China Sea.

“The US will help us with maritime security while reiterating its willingness to assist us in modernizing our military equipment,” he said.

Meanwhile, ASEAN defense ministers concluded their informal talks with a vow to provide security stability in the region and solve pressing disputes, including the quarrel with China in the South China Sea. The Philippines have proposed a separate ministerial meeting specifically to address the South China Sea issue.

“We are studying the Philippines’ proposal,” Purnomo said.