Missiles don't destroy RI-Australia ties

Missiles don't destroy RI-Australia ties

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Thanks to good neighborly relations and fast track diplomacy,
Indonesia's concerns over Australia's acquisition of long-range
cruise missiles have failed to shake the ties between the two
countries.

The Australian government has assured Indonesia that its plan
to equip its fighter jets and aircraft with long-range cruise
missiles is not targeted at specific countries within the Asia-
Pacific region, Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda said
on Monday.

"We have been informed by the Australian government through
both our embassy in Canberra and the Australian Embassy in
Jakarta about the plan and its pledge that the purchase of the
missiles was not intended to target specific countries in the
region," Hassan told reporters after inaugurating the Center for
East Asian Cooperation Studies (CEACS) in Jakarta on Monday.

In a bid to assuage the fears of countries in the region,
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced that the
government had briefed Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and
Thailand about its program, a day after Indonesia expressed its
concern over the plan.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard was quoted as saying
last week that, "We have no hostile designs on any of our
neighbors".

While such an assurance should come as a huge relief to
Indonesia, Hassan warned that installing missiles was not an
answer to Australia's feeling of insecurity as a result from the
free flow of people into the country.

"We see how the Australian government is so bothered by the
influx of massive illegal migrant workers. Of course, it can't be
solved through the use of missiles but (it must be solved)
through the regional cooperation," he said.

Australia is a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

Indonesian Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has also
expressed confidence that Australia's decision to arm itself with
cruise missiles did not constitute a threat to the country.

"Indonesia does not see the development as a threat," he told
reporters on Sunday.

"It is Australia's (sovereign) right to develop its defense
system based on their own considerations. This must be respected
by other countries, including Indonesia," he was quoted by AFP as
saying.

He said that the Indonesian government should prioritize
building closer ties with Australia to eliminate any
misunderstandings or friction between two countries.

Australia Defense Minister Robert Hill announced last Thursday
that his government's planned to create what it believed would be
the most lethal force of war planes in Southeast Asia, by
equipping its fighter jets and aircraft with long-range cruise
missiles.

The plans had triggered security concerns in Indonesia,
especially because the plan was announced only a day after the
Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a defense and strategic
think-tank set up by the government, issued in Canberra a report
that Australians believed Indonesia posed the greatest threat to
their national security.

Hariyadi Wirawan a director at the newly established CEACS
explained that the perception of the defense upgrade as a threat
to Indonesia's security stemmed from past unpleasant relations.

"This is an improvement in Australia's defense particularly
its weapons capability. The plan created concern because
historically, we have problems in our relationship with
Australia. This prompted Indonesia to view the plan as
Australia's way of boosting its offensive capability, which might
destabilize the Southeast Asian region," Hariyadi said.