Indonesian president to make quake-delayed Australian visit<\/p>\n
Neil Sands
\nAgence France-Presse\/Sydney, Australia<\/p>\n
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's determination to
\nvisit Australia just days after his country was rocked by a
\nmassive earthquake underscores improvements in the once shaky
\nrelationship between Canberra and Jakarta, analysts said on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Susilo is scheduled to arrive in Canberra on Sunday after
\ndelaying the trip by four days so he could tour Nias, the island
\nnear Sumatra worst hit by Monday's magnitude-8.7 quake which
\nkilled hundreds.<\/p>\n
Malcolm Cook, an Asia specialist at Sydney's Lowy Institute
\nfor International Policy, said foreign visits were normally
\ndelayed for months or quietly forgotten in the wake of such
\ndisasters.<\/p>\n
\"The fact that he's still coming is a strong gesture, a signal
\nof how important he sees the relationship with Australia,\" Cook
\ntold AFP.<\/p>\n
Security issues arising from the war on terrorism and closer
\neconomic ties will be the main themes of Susilo's three-day
\nvisit, only the third by an Indonesian leader in the past three
\ndecades.<\/p>\n
He and Prime Minister John Howard are expected to examine the
\npossibility of a free trade agreement and announce the beginning
\nof negotiations for a comprehensive security pact covering
\ncounter-terrorism, people smuggling, money laundering and
\ndefense.<\/p>\n
The pact would replace an agreement scrapped when relations
\nhit their lowest point in the wake of the 1999 East Timor crisis.<\/p>\n
Australia led an international peacekeeping force into East
\nTimor after a landslide vote to end Indonesia's 24-year
\noccupation sparked a violent backlash from militia groups backed
\nby the Indonesian army.<\/p>\n
\"The relationship just turned to dust,\" said Australian
\nNational University analyst Ron Huisken. \"There was deep
\nsuspicion on both sides, which has had a lingering impact on how
\nboth countries relate to each other.<\/p>\n
Huisken said the ill feeling was compounded by grievances from
\nboth sides, with Canberra frustrated at what it saw as former
\npresident Megawati Soekarnoputri's failure to act against
\nterrorism and Jakarta resenting Australia's perceived role as a
\nU.S. \"deputy sheriff\" in the region.<\/p>\n
A thaw began in late 2002 as Australian and Indonesian police
\nsuccessfully combined to hunt down the extremists responsible for
\nthe Bali bombings, where 88 Australians were among the 202 dead.<\/p>\n
Analysts said two factors had recently combined to speed up
\nthe rapprochement -- the election of Canberra-friendly Susilo
\nlast year and Australia's swift response to the Dec. 26 tsunami
\ndisaster.<\/p>\n
Cook said Susilo saw Australia as a major security and trading
\npartner and was determined to overcome differences.<\/p>\n
\"He's built a strong personal relationship with Howard, which
\nis going to be very important going forward,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"This is the man who will lead Indonesia until 2009, possibly
\n2014, consolidating the transition to democracy -- Australia
\nneeds to have a good relationship with him and this visit is an
\nimportant part of securing that.\"<\/p>\n
The friendship was consolidated by Australia's A$1billion
\npledge (US$770 million) in aid and interest-free loans following
\nthe Dec. 26 tsunamis that killed more than 220,000 Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Australia has also sent troops and supplies, and pledged A$1
\nmillion in aid, following the latest quake.<\/p>\n
\"You were the first to phone, you were the first to have
\naircraft on the ground, that is a gesture I will never forget,\"
\nan emotional Susilo told Howard when the pair met in Jakarta in
\nJanuary.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesian-president-to-make-quake-delayed-australian-visit-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}