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