Australia pulls back from RI 'ties'<\/p>\n
CANBERRA (Reuters): Australian Prime Minister John Howard is
\nplaying down Australia's "special relationship" with Indonesia,
\nsaying bilateral ties have been damaged by the East Timor crisis.<\/p>\n
Australia has often boasted of its special relationship with
\nIndonesia since signing a security pact with Jakarta in 1995, and
\nregards bilateral ties with Indonesia as the cornerstone of its
\nAsian foreign policy.<\/p>\n
However, Howard said on Monday few nations had such a
\nrelationship and that Australia's tough stance toward the
\nviolence in East Timor had damaged links with Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"I just think it's very important that we keep a sense of
\nperspective about our relationships with countries," Howard said
\nin New Zealand before leaving for Australia after attending the
\nAsia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.<\/p>\n
"There are few countries in the world with which any nation
\nhas a special relationship and I think we've just got to be
\ncareful about that.<\/p>\n
"If we have lower expectations of a relationship with a
\nnation, we might not be so angered and disappointed when strains
\nemerge in the relationship," Howard said.<\/p>\n
"We have been understanding of the Indonesian position and I
\nhope that our relationship can over time be put on a very
\npositive basis."<\/p>",
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