Ideological Bias

The lecturers from both the defence establishment and the university talked in nice 'value-free' language at the School. But people like R.M. Mullins head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Defence Division, who talk about 'security' and 'stability' are in fact putting across just as much of an ideological view as the Chinese or Russians. Indonesia is a good example of this ideological bias. Before the military took over in 1965 and slaughtered and deported thousands of Chinese, Indonesia was described in the West as 'unstable' with 'pro-communist leanings.' Now Indonesia is 'stable' and has come right. As Mullins put it, since 1969 Indonesia has "made progress in consolidating the New Order and started to become more active in regional affairs.