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