T

his refers to '€œBill Clinton checks on post-tsunami development in Aceh'€ (The Jakarta Post, July 20).

I believe that this visit, once again, has shown that Aceh and Indonesia are magnets for the US. Visiting tsunami sites and some devastated areas on behalf of his human rights foundation? To me it seems fishy.

There'€™s no free lunch. If there is, why only Aceh? Why didn'€™t he visit Yogyakarta? Or Sinabung or other previously devastated areas in the country?

Or was it just for the tsunami relief program? Come on, we can do better than that.

For me, Aceh has always been strategic to world interests. Sabang, an island north of Aceh, is known as the gateway to the Malacca Strait, which 75 to 80 percent of the world'€™s supplies pass through.

Besides, the strait leads to the South China Sea. The area is believed to be the richest area in the region, full of natural resources and hidden treasures that draw the attention of many countries in the area.

Conflicts of interest among the countries is inevitable. China has become the common enemy among them.

In order to be actively involved in the South China Sea issue and strengthened the US'€™ role and participation in defending its allies in the region against China, domination of the Malacca Strait is therefore the first step and the most strategic point in US strategic policy over Southeast Asia.

And Aceh has become the most important part of this strategy, geographically.

So, it is so obvious that there are no free lunches, but always the scratching of each other backs.

Rafli Hasan
Medan