Finding a balance with Indonesia

Finding a balance with Indonesia

It is more than time for Australia and Indonesia to mend fences, and it now appears that both nations are ready to cooperate in the task. Just over a week ago, the relationship had reached a new low.

These developments are promising but the road to cordiality will not be smooth. We do need a good working relationship with Indonesia, as Indonesia does with us. It must be based on the pragmatic understanding that, while tensions do arise and one party might occasionally wish the other to the ends of the earth, the reality is that we are close neighbors and must continue to have civil dealings.

The big obstacle is not asylum seekers but other human rights issues. These came to a head over East Timor and Australia's decision to send in troops to supervise the transition to independence. A democracy such as Australia's must continue to feel unease over Indonesia's treatment of other groups, such as separatists in West Papua. But it is important to remember that Indonesia has made progress towards a more democratic and open society in recent years, not least in that Mrs Megawati and her predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, were both validly elected.

Australia also needs to reflect critically on its own contribution to the difficulties. There has been a tendency over time to swing from one extreme to another. Australia's stance towards Suharto was characterised by a sometimes too-deferential reluctance to confront Jakarta. After the East Timor intervention, however, the national pride over Australia's role and the performance of its troops and their commander developed into a kind of triumphalism that could only irritate Indonesia. There is a middle way, in which Australia quietly holds its ground over the issues that matter but handles mutual differences sensitively. We should have the kind of relationship that allows us to deal with asylum seekers and other problems in a cooperative way that benefits both countries.

-- The Age, Melbourne