Clinton to hold talks in Jakarta

By Lucy Williamson BBC News, Jakarta

Hillary Clinton if arriving in Jakarta from Tokyo

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to arrive in Indonesia on the second leg of her 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.

Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim community.

Mrs Clinton will meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Yudhoyono and other top officials before leaving for South Korea on Thursday.

Thousands of police will be stationed at key points in Indonesia's capital Jakarta during her brief visit.

Mrs Clinton coming from Japan where she issued a stark warning to North Korea to end its "provocative language and actions".

She also emphasised America's long-established ties with Japan, and the importance of the two countries' security relationship.

'Powerful message'

In Jakarta, the focus is expected to shift to the future. 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".

There are plenty of mutual interests for his top diplomat to discuss, including Gaza, climate change, education, and of course the economy.

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.

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.

There is already a lot of goodwill towards the new US government here.

Mr Obama spent some of his childhood in Jakarta, and he is seen as a more sympathetic president than his predecessor, George W Bush.

Building mutual respect here should be one of Mrs Clinton's easier jobs.