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.