Why is Australia resuming military training with Indonesia?<\/p>\n
Imanuddin Razak
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
A number of "whys" immediately entered the minds of many
\nIndonesians -- and perhaps Australians as well -- over a report
\nlast week that the Australian government intends to resume annual
\njoint military training with Indonesia's elite forces, Kopassus.<\/p>\n
Australian special forces are set to resume training with
\nKopassus more than five years after ties were suspended over
\nallegations that the latter were behind human rights abuses in
\nEast Timor, the former name of Timor Leste. The Sydney Morning
\nHerald said Kopassus commander Maj. Gen. Syaiful Rizal had
\nconfirmed that Kopassus troops were scheduled to undergo
\ncounterterrorism training with the Perth-based Special Air
\nServices (SAS) regiment next April, and that Australian special
\nforces would then carry out antiguerrilla training in Indonesian
\njungles.<\/p>\n
It's hard to understand Australia's decision to resume joint
\nmilitary training. It is worth an explanation, especially from
\nthe side of the Australian government, over why it felt it had to
\nresume such training with Indonesia while it was the Australian
\ngovernment itself that suspended the program in the wake of the
\n1999 East Timor referendum.<\/p>\n
Kopassus was linked to militia gangs that went on a rampage
\nand killed some 1,400 people after Timor Leste voted for
\nindependence from Indonesia in a United Nations-sponsored
\nreferendum in August 1999. Timor Leste gained full independence
\nin May 2002 after more than two years of UN stewardship.<\/p>\n
However, the question is probably not that difficult to
\nanswer. As England's Lord Pamerston said one and a half centuries
\nago: "We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies.
\nOur interests are eternal and perpetual, and these interests it
\nis our duty to follow."<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the Australian Defense Department revealed
\nthat the planned resumption of joint military training was
\ntriggered by the Oct. 1, 2005 Bali bombing, which highlighted the
\nimportance of continuing to work with Indonesia to combat
\nterrorism.<\/p>\n
After five years of "isolating" Kopassus from participating in
\nany international military cooperation, the Australian government
\nlikely could not find a fitting partner to combat rampant terror
\nattacks, especially in Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific region in
\ngeneral. It did try to establish cooperation with the Indonesian
\nPolice (Polri) after the first Bali blast in October 2002, which
\nkilled 202 people including 88 Australians, but the fact that the
\npolice have yet to capture the masterminds behind the first and
\nthe latest Bali blasts probably forced the Australian government
\nto turn again to Kopassus.<\/p>\n
Excluding Indonesia from its global campaign against terrorism
\nwas not beneficial to Australia or for the security of the
\nSoutheast Asian region. Indonesia has thus looked elsewhere for
\npartners.<\/p>\n
For the past few years, Indonesia has been conducting joint
\nmilitary training with Germany. And recently, a decision was
\ntaken by the Indonesian government to procure Russian Sukhoi jet
\nfighters after a prolonged military embargo imposed by the United
\nStates on Indonesia over alleged human rights abuses by
\nIndonesia's military.<\/p>\n
The latest move by Australia also cannot be separated from the
\nglobal diplomacy of the United States in combating terrorism,
\nespecially after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on its
\nlandmarks.<\/p>\n
It was U.S. President George W. Bush who called Australia
\nAmerica's "sheriff" -- the U.S.'s key ally in combating terrorism
\nin the Southeast Asia region. In an October 2003 interview with
\nlocal Australian newspapers, Bush heaped praise on Australia and
\nits conservative Prime Minister John Howard for supporting the
\nwar on terror.<\/p>\n
The policy to resume joint military training has been viewed
\nas uncontroversial, and will not draw any criticism or opposition
\nfrom countries in the Southeast Asian region.<\/p>\n
"No one in the region really will object to this because
\nthey're all doing it themselves," said Neil James, executive
\ndirector of the independent think-tank Australian Defense
\nAssociation, in a statement last year. He cited the extensive
\nmilitary training programs between the U.S. and Thailand and
\nMalaysia and Singapore, and the U.S.'s limited training programs
\nwith Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Last but not least, Australia also has an interest in a stable
\nIndonesia. An unstable Indonesia is a threat to Australia; a mass
\ninflux of Indonesians escaping instability to Australia threatens
\nAustralia's own stability and security.<\/p>",
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