Australia's Indonesia policy

Australia's Indonesia policy

Australia's recent change of government, from the Labor Party
to the Liberal-National coalition as a result of the March 2
elections has raised a number of issues among observers. However,
the new government is most likely to continue Australia's
Indonesia policy as set forth by the Labor government.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's visit to
Indonesia on April 15-16 appears to have substantiated this
expectation. After meeting with President Soeharto on Tuesday,
Foreign Minister Downer said that for the sake of the country's
security, Canberra wished to maintain its good relations with
Indonesia in all the various sectors. The new government, he
said, would continue to honor the security agreement which the
two countries signed in 1995.

Foreign Minister Downer's visit has thus erased the doubts
which existed among observers regarding Australia's foreign
policy in the context of Asia and Indonesia in particular.

All this is a reflection of the realistic and farsighted
stance of Prime Minister John Howard's government. After all, as
the conceiver of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), for
example, it would be odd and inconsistent for the new Australian
government not to honor the various commitments that were made by
the previous administration.

We would, in this context, like to underscore Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer's statement that, despite the existence of
problems and differences of view between the two countries, the
close bilateral relations between Indonesia and Australia should
not be disturbed.

The foreign minister's visit has made clear Canberra's stance
with regard to the relationship between Australia and Asia, and
between Australia and Indonesia in particular. We hope that the
good relationship and cooperation that has been built so far will
further increase in quality in the years to come.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta