When US President Joe Biden met his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo last month in Glasgow, he praised Indonesia's "essential" leadership in the Indo-Pacific and "strong commitment" to democratic values.
But the reality of American engagement with the world's third most-populous democracy has been more tepid than these warm words imply, belying Indonesia's position as the leading South-east Asian power and a vital balancing force in the geopolitical contest of our time between the United States and China.
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