Reform boosts Indonesia-Australia ties

By Al Busyra Basnur

JAKARTA (JP): The meeting of Indonesia's President, B.J. Habibie, and Prime Minister John Howard of Australia in Bali on April 27, 1999, indicates Australia's well-intentioned desire to help solve the problem of East Timor. The dialog between the two leaders was very meaningful to the future of East Timor.

Habibie's agreement to hold this meeting was not only a recognition of the close relations between Jakarta and Canberra but also an acceptance by Indonesia of Australia as an important player in the process of a solution for East Timor.

In Australia, the responses to that summit varied. For example, The Australian Financial Review (April 20), wrote that the summit meeting was obvious and urgent. It said the ongoing events in East Timor now constitute the gravest threat to Australian-Indonesian relations since a "confrontation" nearly 40 years ago. Another Australian leading newspaper, The Canberra Times (May 1), praised Howard by saying that he stuck his neck out when he requested a summit, calling it a gamble, a risky one, which turned out to be a winning one.

However, beyond the good offices and the role that Australia has played in the search for a solution for East Timor, the meeting has a significant implication to the future of Australia's foreign policy toward Asia, especially in the Southeast Asian region. These Australian initiatives substantiate what Benjamin N. Mugeno wrote 10 years ago about Australia's foreign policies and Canberra's interest in Asian development.

In his article titled Inter-State Rivalry and National Security Dilemmas in Southeast Asia, Mugeno said that because of its wealth, ample resources and high level of industrial and technological development, Australia has the potential to become a major military and economic actor in Southeast Asia. This will be especially true if the United States scales down its military presence in Southeast Asia or withdraws from the region altogether.

Moreover, Canberra's wish to participate in the Asia-European Meeting (ASEM) as part of the Asian side is one indication of Australia's intention to be closer to Asian communities.

Australian relations with Asian countries, so far, are without any significant obstacles. This is a plus factor for Canberra. Australia's wide-ranging involvement in many sectors of Asian social and economic development, especially in Indonesia, have resulted in Asians being well-acquainted with Australians. In the Asian economic crisis, Australia's helpfulness has benefited many countries in the region. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of Singapore even urged Australia to take a leading role in convincing the West to assist more actively in resolving the Asian crisis.

However, some of the Asian communities still regard Australia as an exclusive country. It is claimed that Australian knowledge and understanding of Asia is not equal to that of Asia toward Australia. In addition, racism on the part of a few Australians (exemplified by Hanson and her One Nation Party) is a source of friction in Australian-Asian relations albeit Prime Minister John Howard has convinced Asians that Australia is a tolerant and compassionate society.

The lack of Australian knowledge toward Asia was clearly shown in a survey held in the early 1990s, which indicated that more than 95 percent of Australian children can complete university education without learning anything about Asia. Meanwhile, in the entire Australian Parliament there is only one person who is fluent in an Asian language.

In connection with these findings, it is interesting to note the comment of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew who was once asked to come to Australia to stir the Australian "possum" about Asia. He said "I do not know about that. If I am approached by the Japanese who want to add something to what they know I'd say 'I accept', because the Japanese will listen and try to do something to change. I've been to Australia. I've talked bluntly about Australia and Asia. But I see no change." (see S.F. Gerald, 1997).

As an old friend and immediate neighbor to the north, Indonesia has indeed a great potential to play a better role in bridging Australia with Asia, especially Southeast Asian countries. The white paper published by the coalition government two years ago which cited Indonesia as one of the most important countries to Australia aside from the United States and Japan is an indication that Indonesia is very significant to Australia's interests. The Indonesian economic crisis definitely will not shatter the nation. Indonesia may now look like a candle flickering in the wind, but the candle will soon become a set of power plants that will restore Indonesia's status as a "giant". Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, John McCarty has said that he believes Indonesia has the potential to be a great nation and prosper albeit it has plenty of economic, political and social problems.

Indonesia's long-standing closeness with other countries in Southeast Asia and East Asia as well as with regional organizations in the region, will enable it to help bridge Australia and Asia. This hopefully can be seen more obviously after Indonesia's general election and a new Indonesian government is established, and whatever the result of the Aug. 8 ballot on the status of East Timor, in which Australia plays an important role. But this is not the sole factor. Indonesia's capability to help Australia in its drive to integrate with Asia, however, also depends a great deal on Indonesia's capability to solve its many current problems in the economic, social, and political spheres.

Jakarta and Canberra have a friendship based on history. Starting from the period of Indonesia's struggle for independence, Australia has been very supportive and helpful. Since the opening of their diplomatic relations in 1949, both countries have maintained good bilateral relations and benefited from each other, particularly in economic and social affairs (Basnur, Indonesia-Australia Ties on Never Ending Roller Coaster, The Jakarta Post, July 21, 1998)

The major agreements on bilateral cooperation that both have signed include agreements on the Timor Gap (1989), Mutual Security (1995), Australia Indonesia Development Area (AIDA - 1996) and the Seabed Boundaries (1997).

Other important achievements are sister state/city cooperations between Queensland and Central Java, the Northern Territory and the Eastern Indonesian Provinces, West Australia and East Java, New South Wales and Jakarta's Special Territory, South Australia and West Java, Lismore and Ujungpandang, Darwin and Ambon, Brisbane and Semarang and Jakarta and Sydney.

If a number of "incidents" irritated bilateral relations in the past, these were the consequences of differences in culture, language, race and historical background as well as limited knowledge about each other. Two incidents in 1986, involving an article in the Sydney Morning Herald and Richard Robinson's book on the Soeharto family's wealth, caused some negative vibrations in the two countries' bilateral relations, but with the political reformation in Indonesia, incidents like these will hopefully never happen again.

The writer is an alumnus of the University of Santo Tomas (IST), Manila, Philippines who now works at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The opinions expressed here are entirely his own.