Australia's Indonesia policy<\/p>\n
Australia's recent change of government, from the Labor Party
\nto the Liberal-National coalition as a result of the March 2
\nelections has raised a number of issues among observers. However,
\nthe new government is most likely to continue Australia's
\nIndonesia policy as set forth by the Labor government.<\/p>\n
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's visit to
\nIndonesia on April 15-16 appears to have substantiated this
\nexpectation. After meeting with President Soeharto on Tuesday,
\nForeign Minister Downer said that for the sake of the country's
\nsecurity, Canberra wished to maintain its good relations with
\nIndonesia in all the various sectors. The new government, he
\nsaid, would continue to honor the security agreement which the
\ntwo countries signed in 1995.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Downer's visit has thus erased the doubts
\nwhich existed among observers regarding Australia's foreign
\npolicy in the context of Asia and Indonesia in particular.<\/p>\n
All this is a reflection of the realistic and farsighted
\nstance of Prime Minister John Howard's government. After all, as
\nthe conceiver of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), for
\nexample, it would be odd and inconsistent for the new Australian
\ngovernment not to honor the various commitments that were made by
\nthe previous administration.<\/p>\n
We would, in this context, like to underscore Foreign Minister
\nAlexander Downer's statement that, despite the existence of
\nproblems and differences of view between the two countries, the
\nclose bilateral relations between Indonesia and Australia should
\nnot be disturbed.<\/p>\n
The foreign minister's visit has made clear Canberra's stance
\nwith regard to the relationship between Australia and Asia, and
\nbetween Australia and Indonesia in particular. We hope that the
\ngood relationship and cooperation that has been built so far will
\nfurther increase in quality in the years to come.<\/p>\n
-- Suara Karya, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/australias-indonesia-policy-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }