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bservers have suggested that Indonesia has strayed from its “free and active” foreign policy principle, citing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s dismissal of concerns over the US plan to deploy 2,500 marines in Darwin, Australia.

In an immediate response to US President Barack Obama’s announcement of the plan last month, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said that it may have triggered tension in the region, but Yudhoyono quickly dismissed the statement, saying after a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard that he was assured Australia and the US meant no harm with the plan.

Backing up Marty’s position to strike a balance between major power engagement in the region, such as the US and China, analysts have criticized Yudhoyono for moving toward the US as the region faces an escalation of rivalry.

Bantarto Bandoro of the Indonesia Defense University said Yudhoyono’s gesture could be seen as leaning toward the US.

“Indonesia won’t of course blatantly declare its [inclination to the US]. But the President’s move indirectly suggests [the inclination],” Bantarto said in a phone interview with The Jakarta Post.

He said while Marty had responded rightly, considering the circumstances, Yudhoyono had used a weak excuse to support his trust in the intention of the US’ to cause no harm.

University of Indonesia international law expert Hikmahanto Juwana agreed, saying it would be naïve of the President to believe that the US had no further agenda than that of stationing US marines for disaster relief purposes.

“Regardless of the difference [between Marty and Yudhoyono], we can’t easily believe that there’s nothing behind this,” Hikmahanto said.

He added among the reasons to remain alert was that the US had closed its military base in the Philippines, meaning it might need a new base for the region and that Darwin might well be developed into that new base.

“Not to mention that Obama and the Democrat-led US may be replaced by the Republicans, which have been more inclined toward war,” Hikmahanto said.

Bantarto said given recent events, Indonesia needed to reaffirm its free and active foreign policy, saying Yudhoyono’s gestures regarding the US’ Darwin plan no longer reflected the stance.

“It is in fact a pretty significant deviation,” Bantarto said.

Hikmahanto also reiterated Indonesia’s need to stay true to its free and active stance, given that most of the public still rejected the idea of a pro-US foreign policy.

He said Indonesia could remain good friends with the US, but deviating from its supposed neutral stance was out of the question.

US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel complained last week about the Indonesian media exaggerating the US military plan in Darwin, saying it was “not nearly as big of a deal” and that the number of US marines to be stationed there was “pretty small”.

Marciel added the US did not mind Indonesia further expanding its ties with China amid the archipelago’s growing relations with the US, saying it was not a “zero-sum” game.

An official close to the issue has said that Yudhoyono was merely playing a “good cop bad cop” game to handle both the US and China, with Marty expressing a tough stance on the US while Yudhoyono presented a calming influence.

“Just after the US announced the Darwin Plan, Yudhoyono gathered Indonesia’s top military officers, ordering them to stay alert to every possibility and if necessary, ordering them to mobilize Indonesia’s forces toward the country’s eastern borders,” he said.