The United States has requested broad "blanket" overflight access for its military aircraft across Indonesia's archipelago (a strategically vital chain of islands straddling air and sea corridors between the Pacific and Indian Oceans), with the proposal surfacing just before Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin's visit to the Pentagon on April 13. Jakarta confirmed the discussions are ongoing but stressed that national sovereignty and interest will take precedence, with the Indonesian Foreign Ministry warning that the arrangement could entangle the country in South China Sea tensions and damage relations with China. The episode highlights a recurring friction between Washington's pursuit of operational flexibility in the Indo-Pacific and Indonesia's long-standing commitment to strategic neutrality, with domestic surveys showing 80 percent of Indonesian respondents would side with China over the United States if forced to choose.