Focusing on Aussie defense policy

By Robert Goodfellow

WOLLONGONG, Australia (JP): The Australian shadow minister for defense Stephen Martin is scheduled to be in Jakarta this week. His brief: to initiate high-level dialogue with President Abdurrahman Wahid and other dignitaries including the minister of defense, the Indonesian Military commander, the minister of maritime exploration, senior parliamentarians, military figures and academics.

However, Martin's real challenge is a little more delicate.

The shadow minister is faced with two problems. In developing an alternative defense policy that distinguishes the Labor opposition from the Howard government he must serve two "masters".

The first "master" is domestic public opinion; his party is well aware that the International Force for East Timor was enormously popular with ordinary Australians.

Indeed the deployment of Australian forces last year received enthusiastic bipartisan support; a rarity in the adversarial world of Australian politics. Consequently, substantial long-term aid for an independent East Timor is an accepted reality, no matter what political party governs. It is a price that Australian taxpayers appear well prepared to pay.

Martin's second "master" is the powerful foreign policy legacy left by former Labor prime minister, Paul Keating -- arguably the "Father of Australia's engagement with Asia". Keating was able to fast track Australia's economic integration with the region at a time when Australia was a more Eurocentric and less outwardly looking society than it is today.

Despite criticisms of Keating's dealings with the government of ex-president Soeharto, the foreign policy momentum achieved through the 1993 Summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bogor, West Java, has moved Australia steadily closer to future "headquarters Asia" status, in particular as a regional bridgehead for American and European trade and investment.

The present Liberal government of John Howard is in fact still benefiting from the small amount of residual goodwill that remains between foreign affairs departments in both countries.

Keating's foreign minister, Gareth Evans (now head of the UN Crisis Contact Group), was fond of referring to Australia's future role as "the odd man in of Asia" (rather than the odd man out).

A decade later this remains Stephen Martin's greatest test -- to creatively manage defense imperatives between the world's only Asian and proto-Western societies to share a common border; and to be inclusive, dynamic and creative in looking for new ways of achieving regional peace and prosperity.

Interviewed in Canberra this week by this writer, Martin chose his words carefully. He stated that on one hand, "Australia must ensure that nobody draws the wrong conclusions from the role we played with the United Nations in East Timor. It was an important role in stopping the violence there, under the auspices of the UN and with the agreement of the Indonesian government".

However on the other hand Martin echoed a more conciliatory approach taken by Labor since Keating: "There is no denying that East Timor has placed a great burden on our relations. It is now more important than ever for Australia to undertake mutually beneficial cooperative endeavors with Indonesian forces."

He added, "An example is a joint initiative to combat piracy at sea. My visit is underpinned by the desire to build a mature defense relationship between our countries; one based on confidence building."

Australia, he said, must continue to respect Indonesia's territorial integrity. "We must constantly be aware of the difficulties Indonesia faces in maintaining stability in such a diverse and widespread archipelago state".

Martin's strongest criticism was however reserved for the Howard government's minister for defense John Moore, who has struggled with the portfolio since replacing Ian McLachlan -- it is no secret that Moore does not enjoy a warm relationship with senior officers of his department.

This acrimony has been reflected in the slow progress made by his office in respect to current official defense policy. In fact the last Australian government "white" or policy paper was released as far back as 1994. This has meant that the Australian defense forces have waited over six years to receive clear guidance and strategic advice as to the future direction of their operations in the region.

Martin was quick to comment on this. "The timing of the release of the government's "green" or discussion document has less to do with regional military triumphalism and more to do with a government and minister that have failed to come to grips with the defense portfolio and the challenges confronting the department.

"It is for these reasons that the release of the discussion paper has rung some alarms bells in the Indonesian Military," he said.

The facts are, he added, "that the Australian department of defense is long overdue for a strategic blueprint to map its future directions in the region for the next two decades."

When asked what kind of defense relationship Labor foresees with Indonesia, Martin answered: "Australia and Indonesia have shared interests in maintaining a strategic dialogue and pursuing practical initiatives such as combating piracy. Any future military cooperation between our armed forces should be but one strand of a broader more diverse relationship."

He continued, "I must stress that Indonesia's (or Australia's for that matter) dignity and self-respect is not diminished by pursuing good relations with each other. I don't see Australia's role in the region as one of deputy sheriff as others have indicated, rather that our region needs to establish solid lines of strategic and defense dialogue to establish a core of cooperation centered around peacekeeping and mutual assistance".

In the future, he said, "The Labor party under Kim Beazley will continue to build on the foundations built by previous Labor governments. I look forward to forging strong economic, trade and defense relations with our newly democratized neighbor".

Australians will be watching Martin to see if he can represent their perspective on regional cooperation without compromising the view that Indonesia has new responsibilities as a modern, democratic nation.

Indonesians will be watching to see how he is able to manage domestic Australian public opinion against the Australian Labour party's desire to reinvent the "Keating relationship" with Indonesia.

The writer is a cultural consultant on Indonesia to international business based at the University of Wollongong (sujoko@ozemail.com.au).