The expulsion of the military command from East Timor would leave them with no means of livelihood. East Timor is an opportunity for the regime to demonstrate to the army what can happen in the rest of Indonesia if the military fails to hold the country together. Having few other cards to play, Jakarta wants to convince the army that saving the regime is a savvy economic move. In both China and Indonesia, the burning question is the same. To be more precise, will they return to those missions effectively, or will they return to those missions while they bide their time as an institution and as individuals.
Business has a corrosive effect on any military organization.
A generation of military officers has had self-enrichment as its primary mission. The economic collapse has closed off opportunities that these military men saw as their entitlement. Now the regime, having failed the military, is mobilizing them to save the regime. It is a tough sell. There is a path, well known in Asia, which combines the military mission with the doctrine of self-enrichment.