Security Overkill

I had to go to both the US embassy and the China embassy on Monday while I was in Jakarta.

At the US compound, the buildings are surrounded by a 3-meter tall solid concrete wall, with all sorts of fancy wiring up top. The buildings are set back pretty far from the road. I had my bag searched thoroughly 2 times, walked through 2 metal detectors, and had to pass through 3 heavy metal doors. In addition, my mobile phone and iPod were taken away from me. There were security personnel everywhere and in the visa application area, there were no less than 3 staff directing the very sedated/nervous crowd.

At the Chinese embassy, there was a tall but see-through fence. The building is not set very far back from the busy street. There were a couple of guards at the gate - sipping coffee. At the only metal detector, the guard looked at my bag (including a big plastic shopping bag filled with mint and cilantro) but did not search inside. The visa application area was a zoo, with 6 long lines that people casually walked in and out of line. Everyone was yapping on their phone or busy texting.

Obviously, US embassy is a target in Indonesia (and probably world wide these days) but relationship between China and Indonesia haven't been all that rosy either. As recently as 1999, there were anti-Chinese riots in major Indonesian cities where Chinese were killed and their businesses burned.