Alwi: RI-Australia matters to be settled quietly<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Foreign minister Alwi Shihab said on Friday
\nJakarta and Canberra would settle delicate matters quietly behind
\nthe scenes to avoid them becoming public issues which could
\nfurther damage relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n
While transparency is the popular catchword in current
\ngovernment affairs, Alwi obviously felt that openness regarding
\nsuch issues would hamper Australian-Indonesian relations.<\/p>\n
He swore to keep contentious issues hidden from the public
\neye.<\/p>\n
\"I'll only call you (the media) in when there are good and
\nhappy things to report. If there are unpleasant matters than
\nthere's no need,\" he told journalists.<\/p>\n
He did not explain whether keeping contentious issues hidden
\nfrom the public would deceive people about the true state of
\nrelations.<\/p>\n
Alwi added that during a meeting with his visiting Australian
\ncounterpart Alexander Downer last month, the two sides had agreed
\nto settle outstanding issues discreetly.<\/p>\n
\"I've promised that such matters would be settled quietly,\"
\nAlwi asserted.<\/p>\n
His comments came on the heels of reports last week that the
\nforeign ministry had sent a diplomatic note to the Australian
\nEmbassy asking it to officially explain the allegation that
\nAustralian military planes had entered Indonesian airspace over
\nthe Maluku islands in November.<\/p>\n
The Australian Embassy here quickly denied that any Australian
\nairplanes had passed through Indonesian airspace without
\npermission.<\/p>\n
Australian Ambassador John McCarthy met with Alwi on Friday
\nmorning to officially present Canberra's denial.<\/p>\n
McCarthy also met Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono on
\nFriday to discuss various bilateral issues.<\/p>\n
Later on Friday afternoon Alwi said the matter was now closed.
\nHe did not elaborate what further steps would be taken, adding
\nonly that Indonesia's report would be kept as \"information\" for
\nthe Australian side.<\/p>\n
He then told journalists that he regretted that the note had
\nbeen leaked to the press, and pledged that such a fiasco would
\nnot be repeated.<\/p>\n
\"This (the leak) should not happen again!\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know from where it came. Maybe it was from the
\nforeign ministry, maybe from the embassy or even from the courier
\nwho delivered the letter,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Alwi's stance of playing down the alleged infringement by
\nAustralian air force planes is in stark contrast to that of
\nIndonesian military and defense officials, who have complained
\nseveral times in the past about Australian planes passing through
\nIndonesian airspace.<\/p>\n
Diplomatic ties between Jakarta and Canberra are only starting
\nto improve from a rocky period following events in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Defense cooperation has been particularly strained following
\nIndonesia's decision to cancel a 1995 agreement with Australia on
\nsecurity cooperation.<\/p>\n
The decision to revoke the agreement last year came after
\nAustralia one-sidedly froze technical military cooperation with
\nIndonesia.(dja)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/alwi-ri-australia-matters-to-be-settled-quietly-1447893297",
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