'No' vote reveals Australia's isolation<\/p>\n
By Trevor Datson<\/p>\n
CANBERRA (Reuters): Far from emerging as a new force on the
\nAsian political scene, Australia appears to have underlined its
\nisolation in the region with a popular vote to retain Britain's
\nQueen Elizabeth as sovereign.<\/p>\n
Some Asian countries -- in particular Indonesia and Malaysia
\n-- have already turned their back on Australia in the aftermath
\nof the East Timor crisis.<\/p>\n
Now analysts say that by rejecting a republic in a weekend
\nreferendum, Australians have shown in turn where their sympathies
\nlie.<\/p>\n
\"The perception is that, whatever the government of Australia
\nsays, the people of Australia are not ready to engage with Asia
\n-- and I suppose the referendum would strengthen that view,\" said
\nHarold Crouch of the Australian National University.<\/p>\n
Since Britain began to flirt with Europe in the early 1970s,
\nat the expense of its former colonies, successive Australian
\ngovernments have worked to establish closer regional links.<\/p>\n
Trade and military ties were nurtured and public criticism
\nmuted until Prime Minister John Howard's outspoken criticism of
\nJakarta's handling of the East Timor crisis soured the fruits of
\ntwo decades of rapprochement.<\/p>\n
Ties remain strong with partners such as Singapore and Japan,
\nbut Australia's leadership of the multinational force restoring
\npeace to East Timor was the last straw in Jakarta, analysts said.<\/p>\n
\"Australia has been forgotten by Indonesia because of its
\nstand on East Timor. Indonesia doesn't care one way or the
\nother,\" said Derek Manangka, senior editor with the respected
\nIndonesian language daily Media Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In fact, rather than emerging as a regional foreign policy
\npower, Australia risks falling off the Asian political radar
\naltogether, said Gerry van Klinken of Inside Indonesia magazine.<\/p>\n
\"Jakarta is not putting priority on restoring relations with
\nAustralia, it's looking north, it's looking to the Middle East,
\nAsia, especially India and Pakistan,\" van Klinken told Reuters.<\/p>\n
Although President Abdurrahman Wahid has met the Australian
\nambassador to Jakarta and Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab has made
\nsoothing noises towards Canberra, the state of bilateral
\nrelations can be judged by Wahid's omission of Australia from his
\ncurrent tour of Southeast Asian nations.<\/p>\n
Crouch, senior fellow in Indonesian politics at the Australian
\nNational University, said Australia's closest neighbors never
\nreally accepted white Anglo-Saxon Australia into the Asian fold.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think Indonesians have turned their back on
\nAustralia, but then I don't think they ever had their front to us
\nin the first place. As for Malaysia, I don't think they were
\nlooking to Australia in any way before,\" Crouch told Reuters.<\/p>\n
Wahid's frosty stance towards Australia was unlikely to thaw
\nin the near future, Crouch added.<\/p>\n
\"He still blames Australia for what happened in East Timor.
\nWhen we appeared to be opposing them over East Timor they felt
\nbetrayed. What we'll be needing to do is go back to normal.\"<\/p>\n
Australia's decision on Saturday to retain Queen Elizabeth as
\nhead of state was unlikely to arouse much reaction at the
\ngovernment level, Howard told a news conference on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\"Asian countries don't give a damn about our constitutional
\narrangements,\" he said, but added that ties with the West would
\nnot be strengthened at the expense of Asia.<\/p>\n
\"Australia was always going to have ties with the West, with
\nAmerica...I think it's really limiting ourselves unnecessarily,
\ngetting worried about those things.\"<\/p>\n
But Van Klinken said there was a risk that Asia's hostility
\nor, at best, indifference towards Australia could be reflected in
\nAustralians turning back the clock, monarchy or no monarchy.<\/p>\n
\"We might also move to some kind of isolationism that says our
\npolicy to engage with Asia was a mistake, and let's get back to
\nthe United States where the economy is booming.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/no-vote-reveals-australias-isolation-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}