Indonesia and the Russian bear

Russia seems to be making a full-time occupation of tweaking American interests. Sending warships to Cuba, running roughshod over Saakashvili's Georgia, cutting off oil pipelines to Europe whenever it serves its interests.

In short the old Cold War spirit is back, led by a veteran of those times, KGB functionary Vladmir Putin. Russia's latest salvo: Ramping up its military shipments abroad, including fighter jets to Indonesia. Two were just delivered, with more to come.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Indonesia is famously independent, back to the Sukarno days and the creation of the non-aligned movement, and can buy arms from whomever it wants. So too can it enter into joint ventures with Russian oil and gas interests, which are currently scouring the archipelago.

But consider what Russian dealings have brought to foreign companies like BP, which entered into a business agreement in good faith and got their heads handed to them on a platter. Russian friendship, it seems, has its limits. When the bear is becoming cornered - thanks to a plummeting national stock market and ruble, which together have devalued wealth by as much as 80 or 90% - it's useful to keep that precept in mind.


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