Aussie-RI ties beyond just good neighbors

Aussie-RI ties beyond just good neighbors

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian-Australian relations are moving beyond being simply two good neighbors, and into a more pragmatic one, that promises to be mutually beneficial.

Australia's ambassador to Indonesia, Allan Taylor, stressed this fact yesterday, pointing to the principles of tangible and mutual benefits which guide the relationship between the two countries.

Taylor contends that neither Canberra nor Jakarta sought "to develop the bilateral relationship simply for the sake of having good relations."

"Good relations in themselves achieve little," he told an audience at the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents' Club. The text of his presentation was made available to The Jakarta Post.

He noted Canberra's fundamental motives for cultivating the relationship as lying in the geographical proximity and the potential of Indonesia as a market for Australian products.

The closeness of the two-countries, according to Taylor, "gives Australia major strategic interests in Indonesia."

Taylor went further to espouse his argument when he quoted the Australian defense policy White Paper which established defense relationship with Jakarta as being the most important in the region.

"Indonesia is particularly important to the security of Australia and in the strategic affairs of the region," Taylor said quoting the Defending Australia document released in November.

The second reason for Australia's interest in Indonesia was the potential market of having a population estimated at over 300 million by the middle of the next century.

Taylor said that if Indonesia maintains its current level of growth, within 55 years it could have a larger economy than what Japan has today.

"By 2020 Indonesia could be our fifth largest export destination. It is now our tenth," he said.

Jakarta and Canberra have gone through up and down periods in its relationship. However, the advent of Prime Minister Paul Keating has marked a considerable improvement in ties.

Keating himself has often stated that "no country is more important to Australia than Indonesia."

Ambassador Taylor acknowledges that the relationship has not always been smooth. "There have been difficult times. For example in the mid 1980s."

Nevertheless he believes that the current prevailing situation is a conducive one where it is not only a matter of Australia looking north but of Indonesia also beginning to look south.

"I believe the Indonesian political system has gained a greater appreciation of the potential Australia provides for Indonesia as a political, economic and defense partner," Taylor commented.

Though he did not elaborate his reasons, Taylor may have assumed such perceptions due to Vice President Try Sutrisno's trip to Canberra last September.

Try is the highest ranking official from Indonesia to visit Australia in nearly 20 years. In contrast, Keating has made four trips to Indonesia in the past four years. (mds)