Indonesia, Netherlands can bridge ASEAN-EU relations

Indonesia, Netherlands can bridge ASEAN-EU relations

Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot attended Indonesia's 60th
Independence Day celebrations, the highest-ranking attendance
ever since the Netherlands ceded its claim to sovereignty over
Indonesia in 1949. The Jakarta Post's Riyadi Suparno and
Veeramalla Anjaiah interviewed the foreign minister to get his
views on bilateral issues. Following are some excerpts:

Question: The Netherlands has finally recognized Indonesia's
independence of August 17, 1945, instead of Dec. 27, 1949. The
Netherlands has also expressed its regrets over the suffering
that resulted from Dutch military actions between the two dates.
What does it mean to your country and how will it influence your
relations with Indonesia?

Answer: We have now reached the stage where we are both
looking back at a strained relationship in the past. We have been
very open about it, we have expressed the acknowledgement of the
date, which is of course painful for us, and we have expressed
our regrets for what happened in the period between 1945 and
1949, and it has been accepted gracefully here by the President
and the minister of foreign affairs. And I thank them very much.

It's important because it means that our relations would be
put to a new footing. From there on, we could continue on with an
otherwise already a good relationship, but always it can be
better.

How do you now see Indonesia in terms of your foreign
relations and how do you foresee the future of bilateral
relations?

Indonesia is increasingly an important player, not only in
ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) but also in
Asia. Many countries are now looking at Indonesia as an example
and as a leader. Indonesia, under the new President, is also
becoming more self-conscious of that role. It was very much a
focus on its own situations during previous periods, and now I
feel that it's conscious of its international role.

At the same time, it's very important that relations between
the European Union and ASEAN be strengthened. Indonesia and the
Netherlands can help each other there, given that special
relationship; Indonesia because of its prominent roles in ASEAN,
and the Netherlands because of its roles in the EU.

I was struck by your comment that the Netherlands is just a
small country known for its soccer players, but it does not
address the Netherlands as a key player in the European
integration process. It has a huge GDP (gross domestic products),
that is more than twice that of Indonesia. Our GDP is more of the
whole 10 EU new member states combined. Also, we are of course a
far more important geographical player because we are a gateway
to Europe. So, we can be an important link (between EU and
ASEAN). That relationship could be beneficial for both sides.

Take the Aceh monitoring mission, for example. There is a EU-
ASEAN monitoring mission. It's for the first time that we have
such a combination. From there, I think we can learn a lot from
each other. It also creates a precedence for future cooperation
in many fields because we need each other ...

But of course, it needs two to tango, two to shake hands. Let
see what we can do in near future, and let's work on the basis of
the renewed relationship.

You and the EU are involved in helping settle the Aceh
problem. Would you -- and the EU -- also be available to help
Indonesia once again to settle the Papua issue, and in what way?

First of all, I want to repeat over and over again, that we
recognize the territorial integrity of Indonesia. For the
Netherlands, that's our political philosophy as far as Indonesia
is concerned.

It is the Indonesian government that has to determine how it's
going to implement the special status of Papua. When I had a
discussion with the President, I assured him we have absolutely
no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of Indonesia.
You have to settle the issue by yourself. But if you need our
support, of course, we will be willing to give it, but only at
your request, because we have the experience, and we have worked
in Papua, so we know the situation. So if Indonesia says, "Can
you come to help us?" Of course. Otherwise, it's your baby.

Instead of giving compensation for past damage, you promised
to increase development assistance to Indonesia. How would you
meet such a promise?

In the past, we had contributed enormously to Indonesia, which
was one of the main recipients of our development assistance. We
continue to support Indonesia. But we need good projects, and
good projects need to be discussed by the two governments. Let
see what we can do there.