Indonesia-Australia ties on a never-ending roller coaster<\/p>\n
By Al Busyra Basnur<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The recent visit of Australian Foreign Minister
\nAlexander Downer to Jakarta aimed at, among others, offering help
\nto Indonesia to ease the current economic crisis being faced by
\nIndonesians not only indicates the serious concern of a neighbor
\nbut also shows the depth of Australia's friendship with
\nIndonesia, coming to Indonesia's aid every time it is in
\ndifficulty.<\/p>\n
It is well-known that both countries have been close friends
\nsince way back. It was during the revolutionary period in
\nIndonesia (1945 to 1949) that Australia first began to build a
\nclose relationship with Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Aside from the recognition given by the Australian government
\nto the newborn Republic of Indonesia on a de facto basis (July
\n1947) and on a de jure basis (December 1949), many Australian
\norganizations such as the Australian Trade Union and individuals
\norganized a number of rallies to collect aid for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Australian waterside boycotted the loading of
\nDutch ships destined for Indonesian ports. And when the United
\nNations formed a Good Offices Committee in 1947 to search for a
\nsolution to the Indonesia-Dutch bilateral conflict, Australia
\nacted as Indonesia's representative in the commission and did a
\ngood job of protecting Indonesia's interests.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Downer's visit to Indonesia perhaps reminded
\nmany Indonesians that there has been recent strain, albeit
\nslight, in the diplomatic ties between the two countries.
\nAustralia has been seeking to participate in the Asia Europe
\nMeeting (ASEM) and, for a while, there were doubts as to
\nIndonesia's actual stand on the matter. Although it has been
\nexplained quite clearly through high-level diplomatic channels
\nthat the Indonesian government remains firmly committed to
\nsupporting Australian participation in ASEM, many Australians
\nstill doubt that this is Indonesia's actual stand on the matter.<\/p>\n
Geographically, Indonesia and Australia are right next door to
\neach other but their bilateral relations have not always been
\nperfectly smooth. The dynamics of their relationship could be
\ncompared to a loaded roller coaster, going up and down to hard
\nrock music. A high period is usually followed by a period of
\ndecline.<\/p>\n
For example, the warm relationship between the two countries
\nduring the Indonesian revolution deteriorated with Indonesia's
\nefforts to regain Irian Jaya (formerly West Irian) and
\nIndonesia's confrontation with Malaysia. In subsequent years, the
\nharmonious relationship of the two countries at the beginning of
\nthe Soeharto era in the mid-1960s was also eroded by adverse
\nreporting in Australian mass media. A notable instance was David
\nJenkins' writing on Soeharto in the Sydney Morning Herald on
\nApril 10, 1986 which Indonesian leaders considered misinformation
\nthat led to misunderstanding, which certainly strained the
\nrelationship between the two countries.<\/p>\n
On a regular basis, negative comments and cynical information
\npublished by certain Australian media always strains Indonesian-
\nAustralian relations as these have particularly irritated
\nIndonesian leaders. In retrospect, since the death of five
\nAustralian journalists in East Timor in 1975, the Australian
\nmedia frequently have made it a habit to broadcast and print news
\non Indonesia that many Indonesian leaders have regarded as
\nnegative comments and misinformation that lead to
\nmisunderstanding, thereby widening whatever gap existing between
\nthe two countries at any given moment.<\/p>\n
Basically, there are several factors that account for this
\nroller-coaster relationship between Jakarta and Canberra: the
\ndifferentiation of their political systems, security doctrines,
\nstages of economic development and cultural values. These have
\nsometimes led the two countries to misunderstand and harbor
\ndoubts about each other. Prof. Grame Hugo of the University of
\nAdelaide admits that there are still many Australian bureaucrats
\nwho do not understand Indonesia very well because of cultural
\ndifferences and language difficulties.<\/p>\n
The relationship between Indonesia and Australia is indeed
\nvery important not only on a bilateral basis but also in the
\nframework of regional stability. This is evident in the signing
\nof a number of momentous bilateral agreements such as the Timor
\nGap Agreement, the Agreement for Maintaining Security, the
\nMaritime Boundary Agreement and the Agreement to Launch the
\nAustralia-Indonesia Development Area (AIDA). Regionally, both are
\nactively involved in the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conferences, the
\nASEAN-Australia Dialog, APEC and the ASEAN Regional Forum.<\/p>\n
Both countries realize that they are different in many ways
\nbut this has not stopped either from striving to enhance and
\ndeepen their excellent relationship. In fact, their differences
\nhave only served to spur them to strive harder to achieve mutual
\nunderstanding.<\/p>\n
In the view of Australia, Indonesia is an important
\nneighboring country in the north and this is not only because of
\nthe size of Indonesia's territory and population, but also
\nbecause of the positive role that Indonesia has played regionally
\nand internationally. The recently leaked Australian white paper
\nshows that the Australian coalition government considers
\nIndonesia third in the order of importance among foreign
\ncountries, behind the United States and Japan. In fourth place is
\nChina. It is also worth noting that, since the Howard government
\ncame into power in Australia in 1996, Indonesia was the first
\ncountry that the Australian prime minister and the Australian
\nforeign minister visited. A good number of visits to Indonesia
\nwere subsequently made by these two Australian leaders.<\/p>\n
There were indeed some worries in Indonesia before the
\nformation of the current Australian government in 1996 because a
\nsurvey had shown that 76 percent of coalition respondents
\nbelieved Indonesia was a threat to Australia.<\/p>\n
The question of East Timor is one of the most important issues
\nin the overall Indonesian-Australian relationship. From the
\nbeginning, Australia has demonstrated a very realistic and firm
\nstand over East Timor's integration with Indonesia. There is no
\ndoubt that Australia knew what was going on in East Timor before,
\nduring and after integration. The facts and the realities in East
\nTimor at that time prompted the Fraser government to recognize
\nEast Timor's integration with Indonesia on a de facto basis in
\n1978 and on a de jure basis in 1983. Again, in 1985, prime
\nminister Bob Hawke had occasion to reiterate that East Timorese
\nwere citizens of Indonesia. The said recognition was reinforced
\nby the historic signing of the Timor Gap Treaty in 1989 which
\ncame into force in 1991. In his recent visit to Indonesia,
\nAustralian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, again, reiterated
\nhis government's support for Indonesia, rejecting the idea of a
\nreferendum on East Timor as proposed by Ramos-Horta.<\/p>\n
Australia is a country very close to Indonesian eyes. It
\nshould also ideally be close to Indonesian hearts. Hence, it is
\ntime now for Indonesia to step up its relationship with Australia
\nfor several reasons.<\/p>\n
First, Australia has been one of our best friends since the
\nbeginning of Indonesia's independence. Canberra has also been
\nsupportive of Indonesia on the East Timor issue and has extended
\nassistance and cooperation to Indonesia in view of the economic
\ncrisis that the country is in.<\/p>\n
Second, Australia, one of the richest countries in the world,
\nhas been a long-time partner of Indonesia in development
\ncooperation, particularly with reference to the eastern part of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Third, the wave of reform which now has Indonesia engrossed is
\nsupported by Australia. Eventually the quality of Indonesia's
\nnational reform will determine to a large extent how it will be
\nlooked upon by neighbors such as Australia.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, realizing that Indonesia and Australia are
\nfar apart in terms of political, socioeconomical structures and
\ncultural values, and in order to enhance relations between the
\ntwo countries, Australia should be able to take a realistic view
\nof such differences and strive for greater mutual understanding,
\npromoting friendly exchanges and equitable cooperation.<\/p>\n
And whatever difficulties there may be in that relationship,
\nthese difficulties can be overcome if both countries begin to
\nregard each other with new eyes and from a new angle. Since
\nIndonesia has entered a new era of reform, and Australian has
\nbeen asserting a policy of engagement with Asia in recent years,
\nwe hope the relationship between Indonesia and Australia will
\ngrow and strengthen more as both countries face the challenges of
\na new century and millennium.<\/p>\n
The writer is an international observer, alumnus of University
\nof the Santo Tomas (UST), Manila, Philippines. He currently works
\nat the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n
Window A: The question of East Timor is one of the most important
\nissues in the overall Indonesian-Australian relationship. From
\nthe beginning, Australia has demonstrated a very realistic and
\nfirm stand over East Timor's integration with Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Window B: Australia is a country very close to Indonesian eyes.
\nIt should also ideally be close to Indonesian hearts. Hence, it
\nis time now for Indonesia to step up its relationship with
\nAustralia for several reasons.<\/p>",
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