Focusing on Aussie defense policy

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).