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Clinton set for Indonesia talks Clinton set for Indonesia talks
(20 minutes later)
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Indonesia on the second leg of her Asian tour. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on the second leg of her four-nation Asian tour.
The inclusion of Indonesia in her first overseas trip as America's top diplomat is a sign of a US willingness to forge broader ties with the Muslim world. During her brief visit, Mrs Clinton is scheduled to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other senior officials.
Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim community. They will discuss a range of issues including education and climate change.
Mrs Clinton will meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other top officials before leaving for South Korea on Thursday. But Mrs Clinton's visit is also being carefully watched for signs of a new US policy towards the Muslim world.
Thousands of police will be stationed at key points in Indonesia's capital Jakarta during her brief visit. This is in some ways the most intriguing part of her Asian tour.
Mrs Clinton arrived from Japan, where she issued a stark warning to North Korea to end its "provocative language and actions". The symbolism is powerful - her first visit to a Muslim majority country; a stable, democratic country, half a world away from the Middle East.
She also emphasised America's long-established ties with Japan, and the importance of the two countries' security relationship. And in a sign of the breadth of expectations Mrs Clinton will face here, her welcoming party included both senior government officials, and students from US President Barack Obama's old school.
'Powerful message' 'Mutual respect'
In Jakarta, the focus is expected to shift to the future. Mr Obama spent some of his childhood in Jakarta and there is a lot of goodwill among Indonesians towards his new government.
US President Barack Obama has already made it clear he wants a new kind of dialogue with the Muslim world, based on "mutual interests and mutual respect". He has already made it clear he wants a new kind of relationship with the Muslim world, based on "mutual interests and mutual respect".
There are plenty of mutual interests for his top diplomat to discuss, including Gaza, climate change, education, and of course the economy. Mrs Clinton's visit will be carefully watched for signs of that new engagement - and also for signs that Washington wants to develop closer ties with South East Asia.
And the fact that her first visit to a Muslim country will be to a largely peaceful democracy half a world away from the Middle East sends a powerful message. Indonesian officials have privately said that is exactly what they are hoping for; that they would welcome closer co-operation with the new US administration.
It says that America's relations with the Muslim world are not only going to be about what happens in the Middle East, or Afghanistan and Pakistan. Relations between the two governments grew markedly under former President George W Bush, with the normalisation of military ties and cooperation on counter-terrorism, following a spate of bomb attacks by Islamist groups here.
There is already a lot of goodwill towards the new US government here. But they deteriorated among the population in general, as a result of US policies in the Middle East, and its invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr Obama spent some of his childhood in Jakarta, and he is seen as a more sympathetic president than his predecessor, George W Bush. That is still what defines most attitudes here.
Building mutual respect here should be one of Mrs Clinton's easier jobs. Many people say they welcome the symbolism of Mrs Clinton's visit, and are pleased with President Obama's election, but that they do not expect too much real change.