Indonesia scraps foreign troop pullout deadline

The United States, whose military is playing a key role in aiding stranded victims in Indonesia's badly-hit Aceh province, meanwhile pledged to turn a new page in military ties with the world's largest Muslim nation in the wake of the December 26 tragedy.

Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said an earlier demand by the country's vice president, Yusuf Kalla, that overseas troops quit within three months or "the sooner the better" was "not a deadline for involvement of foreign military personnel".

"It is a benchmark for the Indo-nesian government to improve and accelerate its relief efforts so that by March 26th the large part of the burden of the relief efforts will be carried by the Indonesian government and authorities on the ground," Sudarsono told reporters in Jakarta.

Sudarsono, speaking after talks with US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and the commander for US forces in the Pacific, Admiral Thomas Fargo, said the overseas military could remain provided they scaled back their presence.

"Foreign military assistance, operations providing relief and rehabilitation, will be allowed to continue, albeit on a reduced scale."

Sudarsono acknowledged the US military in Aceh had been "the backbone of the logistical operations, providing assistance to all afflicted".

Armed forces from the United States and several other countries have proved crucial to relief operations in Aceh on Sumatra island.