In the days after the December 26 disaster, which killed over 106,000 Indonesians and left many thousands more clinging to life on remote shorelines, foreign troops were welcomed as they rushed in aid by navy warships and helicopters.

Their arrival, led by the United States, marked a leap forward for an aid effort that was struggling against rugged mountains and demolished roads to reach survivors in need of urgent food, water and medicine.

But it was also noticeable for the sudden thaw in often uneasy relations between the world's largest Muslim-populated and the foreign military forces it has tried for years to keep at arm's length, despite its struggle to tackle internal security problems.

These included the Australian military, which Indonesia has barely forgiven for its intervention in the violent separation of East Timor in 1999 and the US armed forces, a frequent target of Indonesian ire for their campaign in Iraq.

Their presence in Aceh was no less remarkable in light of heavy restrictions previously in place around the province, the scene of a fiercely fought independence struggle, which has closed the region to foreigners.

With the emergency subsiding, old sentiments appear to be dying hard, as Indonesian nationalism rises to the fore, pushing leaders to urge the departure of several hundred foreign troops, even as many people were still awaiting aid.

Vice President Yusuf Kalla on Tuesday said foreign troops -- also including Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and very shortly France and Spain -- should be gone within three months, or "the sooner the better".

In another move, Indonesia has reasserted its military control over Aceh, requiring foreigners to register their presence and seek escorts when travelling out of main towns where they say attacks by armed rebels are a risk.

The United Nations says it expects emergency operations in Indonesia to be over within three months and has no problem with the security arrangements in Aceh, but said the government's motives were clearly political.

"They want to have the situation under control for political reasons as well as security reasons," said UN Aceh coordinator Joel Boutroue.

Azyumardi Azra, a political analyst and the Islamic University in Jakarta, said Kalla's comments reflected a hasty nationalism that failed to take into account Indonesia's shortcomings to deal with such a calamity.

He said the vice president was "under pressure" from legislators who do not want to be embarrassed by incidents involving Free Aceh Movement separatist rebels and the foreigners.

Kalla's boss Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who won international kudos for organising a tsunami summit in Jakarta days after the disaster, has previously urged Indonesians to be receptive to the presence of foreign military.

However he and his deputy face a tricky job of juggling the needs of his nation with the demands of his main political supporters, ardent nationalists from the powerful Golkar and Prosperous Justice Party, who want a departure deadline.

Former human rights minister Hasballah Saad said Indonesia appeared unable to accept the aid as an unconditional gesture of generosity rather than anything more sinister and come to terms with its own inability to cope.

"It is one thing to be sensitive about having foreign troops on our soil but we must acknowledge that they not only came here with aid and money but their top leaders have visited and expressed genuine sadness for Aceh," said Saad.

"We don't have the proper tools or men. How many Hercules planes and choppers that can actually fly do we have? Suppose the Americans or Singaporeans lent us their Chinooks, how many of our pilots are there that can fly them?" Saad said.

In an editorial, the Jakarta Post daily also warned of a "growing feeling of xenaphobia here" as traditionally fierce Indonesian national pride kicked in regardless of the needs of Acehnese.

"We accept the foreigners' relief, but at the same time we are suspicious of them and do not appreciate what they have done," the Post said.

"People whoe lives far away from these appreciative victims still question the foreign presence, while for victims, they are saviours."

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