United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates is to fly to Indonesia after the conclusion of an annual Australia-US Ministerial consultation (AUSMIN) in Canberra on Saturday, ANTARA quoted ABC News as reporting. The United States and Australia had used the annual AUSMIN alliance talks to pledge increased and broad-based engagement with Indonesia as a democratic partner in Southeast Asia, the television station said. The station quoted US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte as saying the talks with Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon in Canberra touched on a wide range of security issues facing South-east Asia.
