A new era in RI-Aussie ties?<\/p>\n
S.P. Seth
\nSydney<\/p>\n
Indonesia is currently the flavor of the month with the
\ngovernment and the media in Australia. Canberra feels good with
\nits generous tsunami aid package and humanitarian aid. The
\ngovernment is satisfied that it will be able to effectively
\nsupervise how its $A1 billion five-year aid package (half in
\ngrants and half as low interest loans) will be spent to prevent
\nit from ending up in corrupt deals.<\/p>\n
The state visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a
\nheartening development for Australia, because such visits in the
\npast have been rare occasions. In the past, the political traffic
\nwas largely one way with the Australian prime ministers visiting
\nIndonesia much of the time.<\/p>\n
For Prime Minister John Howard it is a vindication of his
\nforeign policy towards Indonesia and the region. Which is that
\nCanberra will not kowtow to its Asian neighbors and nor will it
\nengage with them by compromising its special relationship with
\nthe United States. Howard believes that his predecessor Paul
\nKeating's excessive focus on Asia was wrong because it sought to
\ndefine Australia's "place in the world too narrowly."<\/p>\n
Speaking recently at an Australian think tank, he said, "My
\ngovernment has rebalanced Australia's foreign policy to better
\nreflect the unique intersection of history, geography, culture,
\nand economic opportunity that our country represents."<\/p>\n
When John Howard came to power in 1996, Asia-Pacific region
\nwas on a high economically. President Soeharto was still secure
\nin his position. But soon after, in 1997 and 1998, Asia was hit
\nby an economic tsunami. Soeharto resigned and Indonesia plunged
\ninto economic and political crisis. The Asian economic miracle
\nseemed over, and with it all the hype about Asian values and the
\nincoming Asia-Pacific century.<\/p>\n
During this period when Asian economies were in doldrums,
\nAustralia managed to come out pretty strong which reflected well
\non it. It gave Canberra new confidence to deal with its Asian
\nregion.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was hit the hardest with its polity and economy in a
\nshambles. Even as it was trying to cope with the new disaster, it
\nwas also hit with East Timorese independence movement. Australia
\nplayed a role in it, with its peacekeeping force deployed after
\nthe independence referendum in East Timor. This has poisoned
\nAustralia's relationship with Indonesia, which is only now
\nemerging from under an enveloping cloud.<\/p>\n
But East Timor saga gave Canberra a new confidence about its
\nregional status tempered, though, by the realization that it
\nwouldn't have been possible without U.S. political and logistical
\nsupport. Hence, the much talked about U.S. "deputy sheriff" role
\nfor John Howard, indicating Australia's derivative status.<\/p>\n
Therefore, when Howard recently said that Australia's close
\nlinks with the U.S. "are a plus, not a minus, in forging stronger
\nlinks in Asia", he was apparently referring to the regional clout
\nCanberra exercises in view of these special ties, further
\nreinforced after Australia became part of the "coalition of the
\nwilling" to invade Iraq.<\/p>\n
In other words, Jakarta's new interest in revamping relations
\nwith Canberra seems part of Susilo's larger agenda of forging
\ncloser relations with the United States. But there will be
\nproblems in the parliament where there still is considerable
\nbitterness about Australia's role in East Timor.<\/p>\n
But at the level of the governments in both countries, there
\nis a desire to improve and expand their bilateral relations. And
\nthis is leading them, as first suggested by Australia's Foreign
\nMinister Alexander Downer, to work on a security treaty.<\/p>\n
However, President Susilo is not keen on a full-fledged
\ndefense pact between the two countries.<\/p>\n
The idea is to formalize and expand existing cooperation
\nbetween the two countries in the areas of counter-terrorism,
\ntransnational crime and military training.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, the developing ties between Indonesia and
\nAustralia is happening at a time of general improvement in
\nAustralia's relations with other ASEAN countries. Indeed
\nMalaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi will be the next
\nvisitor from an ASEAN country.<\/p>\n
However, in an interview with Australian TV he didn't mince
\nwords about the problem areas. Commenting on John Howard's
\ngreater interest in Asia, Badawi felt that he "was perhaps
\nchanging some tunes." But he still found upsetting Howard's
\nstatements like "pre-emptive action" against terrorists in
\nregional countries.<\/p>\n
Badawi doubted if East Asia was Canberra's primary focus,
\nconsidering the centrality of its ties with the United States.<\/p>\n
At the ASEAN level, Canberra's refusal to sign its Treaty of
\nAmity and Cooperation might hinder an otherwise promising
\nrelationship with the regional organization.<\/p>\n
The former Prime Minister Paul Keating has written in a
\nnewspaper article, "Back in 1996 (when John Howard came to
\npower), Howard set about wasting our relationships with Asia,
\nwhile overdoing our relationship with the U.S."<\/p>\n
He added, "His flirtation with Pauline Hanson and race, the
\ndeputy sheriff, the triumphalism over Timor, the resignation over
\nInternational Monetary Fund intervention in Indonesia, the Tampa
\ndebacle (the refugee ship that was not allowed in), the 'we
\ndecide who comes here', have all left scars...which will have
\nlong-run consequences."<\/p>\n
But Canberra is making a good start. And the new mood in
\nAustralia and Indonesia might be the harbinger of a new era
\nbetween the two countries and the region.<\/p>\n
The author is a free-lance writer based in Sydney and can be
\nreached at SushilPSeth@aol.com.<\/p>",
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