New opportunities

With a new reformist President in place, Indonesia is suddenly back on the diplomatic "A" list. And Australian Prime Minister John Howard, is very keen to come to the party. What a difference a decade makes.

The election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono this month promises the revival of Indonesia's leadership role in the region and possibly beyond. Canberra's renewed enthusiasm for cooperation should come with far less baggage attached than the previous courtship of Jakarta under the former prime minister Paul Keating.

The overwhelmingly positive international response to Susilo's election is partly due to his pro-Western, market-oriented platform and his pledge to swap policy paralysis for sweeping reforms. It is also a result of the unexpectedly smooth democratic process which brought him to office. Hundreds of millions of ballots were successfully cast this year in national and presidential elections - one of the world's most complex electoral exercises.

But it is more than that. Indonesia boasts a moderate Muslim majority and a historic commitment to religious pluralism. This makes Jakarta a very desirable ally for the West, not just in a strategic war on terrorism - including the fight against Indonesian-based extremist cells - but in the broader ideological battle to demonstrate that Islam and democracy can co-exist.

For Australia, closer ties with Indonesia could help open doors across Asia, and the new Cabinet includes at least one senior economist with a close affinity for Australia. But Canberra needs to be wary of unrealistically high expectations. Indonesian Muslims are moderates, but many perceive Western attitudes towards Islam as uniformly negative. This means the president will need to steer a somewhat independent course. And that will make him a somewhat unpredictable new friend.

-- The Sydney Morning Herald