Back on speaking terms in Jakarta

Back on speaking terms in Jakarta

As a devotee of cricket, Prime Minister John Howard can appreciate the virtues of playing with a straight bat. He applied the principle to diplomacy in Indonesia this week and, in the face of a hostile attack on a sticky wicket, the technique served him well.

It served the interests of improving relations between Australia and Indonesia, to the extent of formulating what could be a basis for a regional response to terrorism. Conscious of Indonesian accusations of indulging in "megaphone diplomacy", Mr Howard did not let a series of diplomatic snubs distract him from meeting President Megawati Soekarnoputri. MPs of all parties in the parliament united against Mr Howard's visit. Six months ago, in the heat of a diplomatic tit for tat over boatloads of asylum seekers, Mrs Megawati had refused to take his phone calls. This week ... when the leaders emerged from the presidential palace, they spoke in accord of their desire for a "realistic" and "rational" relationship.

They have already gone beyond words to action. Australia has announced it will provide five patrol boats to help Indonesia control people-smuggling. Mr Howard also said he hoped to sign an Indonesian-proposed memorandum of understanding to counter terrorism. Mr Howard ... deserves credit for what has already been achieved by his visit.

That is particularly so when one considers the diplomatic indignities to which he was subjected in Jakarta. Mr Howard sensibly dismissed these as a case of politicians playing to their domestic gallery ... but underlying their actions is deep resentment over Australia's attitude to boat people and East Timor, which only time will diminish. Progress is being made at the highest level to develop a long-overdue, coordinated approach to asylum seekers.

As for East Timor, it is Indonesia that must come to terms with what are now the facts of history. Mr Howard need make no apologies. Mr Howard was right to reject accusations of meddling in the push for independence in the province of Papua. Clearly, injured sensitivities remain raw in Jakarta, perhaps motivating some of the wilder accusations against Mr Howard. Like a good batsman, he let them go. Negotiating the continuing differences between Indonesia and Australia will not be easy, but the senior partners in the relationship have made an encouraging start.

-- The Age, Melbourne