Australian PM Howard praised at home for his coolness in Jakarta

Australian PM Howard praised at home for his coolness in Jakarta

Belinda Goldsmith, Reuters, Canberra

Australian Prime Minister John Howard was applauded at home on Friday for keeping his cool during a visit to repair ties with Indonesia despite taunts from Amien Rais and other parliamentarians.

Amien, head of Indonesia's top assembly, canceled a meeting with Howard at the 11th hour, stealing headlines by accusing Australia of meddling in Jakarta's internal affairs -- but then sat near Howard at a state dinner, exchanging pleasantries.

Howard, who is due home later on Friday, refused to let Amien ruffle him, dismissing the snub as a domestic political gesture by a known opponent of President Megawati Soekarnoputri that was designed to curry favor with Indonesians critical of Australia.

Maintaining his calm, Howard pushed ahead with the visit and left Jakarta with a pact signed by Megawati to combat regional terrorism and promising to give Indonesia five patrol boats to help in the battle against people smugglers.

Howard, spending his final day in Indonesia in the ancient royal capital of Yogyakarta, said the visit was "worthwhile" but he was realistic about the relationship.

"The mistake that has been made in the past in relation to Indonesia is that people have elevated expectations out of the relationship and those expectations are always doomed to be disappointed," Howard told reporters on Friday.

Australian commentators hailed the visit a success in putting the relationship back on track after six months of tension -- and a feather in the cap for Howard who is usually criticized for his awkwardness with foreign policy issues.

"Mr Howard, though not entirely blameless for past strains in the relationship, deserves credit for what has already been achieved by his visit," said an editorial in The Age newspaper.

"That is particularly so when one considers the diplomatic indignities to which he was subjected in Jakarta."

Relations between neighbors Australia and Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, have always been testy.

But they hit a low when Australia led an international peace force into East Timor in 1999 after a vote for independence from Jakarta turned violent. Some Indonesians accused Canberra of interfering in domestic affairs.

With Megawati elected to power last July, Canberra hoped to forget the past but a month later tensions flared between the president and Howard when a Norwegian tanker rescued 433 asylum seekers from an Indonesian boat and carried them to Australia.

Howard, facing a tight election and aware of resentment in Australia to rising numbers of Middle Eastern and Afghan boat people, took a controversial stand. He refused to allow them in. Australia has turned away every boat with asylum seekers since.

But Jakarta also refused to take back the Afghan migrants who paid people smugglers in Indonesia for passage to Australia. Megawati would not return Howard's telephone calls and her colleagues accused him of "megaphone diplomacy".

Howard's visit to Jakarta this week, the first since his conservative government waltzed back into power last November, aimed to wipe the slate clean again.

Howard, a diminutive politician whose determination is cited as the key to his success, was not going to let a diplomatic snub ruin a trip to heal wounds.

"He saved face in the end, however there is no room for triumphalism," The Australian newspaper said in an editorial.

"Australia, like Indonesia, should take care to build on the improvement in the relationship, rather than let if fall victim once again to short-term domestic political agendas."