Indonesia, Australia and the region

Indonesia, Australia and the region

The security agreement between Indonesia and Australia which
was signed in Jakarta on Monday has attracted widespread
attention. This is a bilateral agreement but it has importance
for the whole region. This is due to the strategic significance
of Indonesia and the military capability of Australia as an
industrialized country located in the Asian region.

On the bilateral plane the agreement confirms and guarantees a
sense of security, of mutual trust and of cooperation in the
fields of security and defense between Indonesia and Australia.

For Australia the agreement may be seen as completing its
post-Cold War security arrangements with the Southeast Asian
region. For Indonesia, it may be seen as strengthening this
country's position and its strategic role in the region -- a
distinction it has been accorded precisely due to its non-
assertive stance and demeanor.

With regard to the shifts in the power and cooperation
structures in the Asia-Pacific region -- taking account of the
presence in this region of, for example, the U.S., Japan and
China -- the Indonesia-Australia security agreement helps to
bolster the structures of security and resilience in the region.

-- Kompas, Jakarta