RI-Australia ties: East Timor, Bali bombing, tsunami and beyond

RI-Australia ties: East Timor, Bali bombing, tsunami and beyond

Imron Cotan, Canberra

Much has been said on the impact of the tsunami on Indonesia-
Australia relations. The tragedy has indeed provided yet another
opportunity to better Indonesia's rollercoaster relationship with
Australia.

While Indonesia and Australia are close geographically, in
many respects they are absolutely different from one another,
notably in terms of history, culture and political orientation,
to name but a few. It would therefore be naive to expect that the
relationship between the two countries will be problem free.

The history of the relationship between Indonesia and
Australia -- which spans incidentally just a relatively short
period of roughly 60 years -- has been characterized for the most
part by peaks and troughs, seldom has there been the stable,
friendly, and cooperative long-term relationship that some would
expect of close neighbors.

Australia's involvement in East Timor was one major turning
point in Indonesia-Australia relations. The remarkably excellent
bilateral ties up to that point nosedived to the extent that
Indonesia, in September, 1999, decided to abrogate the security
pact signed by Indonesia and Australia on Dec. 18, 1995.

A significant step was taken in the Sixth Indonesia-Australia
Ministerial Forum in Jakarta in March 2003 in which the
Australian Ministers reiterated the strong statements of support
for Indonesia's territorial integrity stated by PM John Howard on
various occasions, including the one he made during his meeting
with President Megawati in February 2003.

The relations continued to prosper when Indonesia and
Australia were confronted with common threats of trans-national
crimes, notably people smuggling, money laundering and terrorism.

The Bali Bombing in October 2002 that claimed 202 innocent
lives -- 88 of them were Australians -- have further paved the
way for Indonesia and Australia to enhance their relations. The
police of the two countries have been closely working together in
hunting down the perpetrators in Indonesia, leading to their
arrests and prosecutions.

Indeed, this tragic incident has presented Indonesia and
Australia with an opportunity to beef up regional cooperation to
combat terrorism.

The tsunami that has claimed around 250,000 lives and
inflicted horrendous damage on properties in Aceh and North
Sumatra, has presented yet another opportunity for Indonesia and
Australia to get closer, one to another.

While other countries were still trying to comprehend the
massive scale of the tragedy, Australia was the first to come and
help the victims to weather this indeed tragic calamity by
immediately sending several transport planes loaded with
emergency supplies and followed closely by around 1,000 defense
personnel. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spoke from his
heart when he met Prime Minister John Howard in Jakarta recently
during which he was quoted as saying: "You were first on the
phone. You were the first to have aircraft on the ground. That
is a gesture I will never forget."

Again, both Indonesia and Australia have to appreciate the
fact that no one resented the massive presence of ADF on
Indonesia's soil, indicating that the ill-feelings emanating from
the East Timorese debacle have vanished as was also correctly
portrayed by PM John Howard when he recently stated that: "the
close relationship between Australia's military and Indonesian
troops in Jakarta's hour of need proved both countries had turned
the corner from the strains of East Timor in 1999".

At the government-to-government level, Indonesia and Australia
now have a post-tsunami mechanism for cooperation namely the
Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and
Development (AIPRD) directly chaired by the president and the
prime minister and equipped with a joint commission of their
foreign and economic ministers. This body will oversee the
utilization over the next five years of Australia's A$1 billion
assistance package to help rebuild the devastated areas in Aceh
and North Sumatra.

The generosity of the Australian people is also amazing. Over
$260 million has been raised nationally.

With regards to Australia-Indonesia relations in the broader
context, on the regional front, Indonesia has always supported
the full integration of Australia into the region for obvious
reasons.

Geography dictates that Indonesia and Australia should work
together to confront common threats and to provide stability and
prosperity in the region. Indonesia firmly believes that there
will be no political stability and economic prosperity in the
region should Indonesia and Australia fail to cooperate.

This firm conviction has led Indonesia to support the full
integration of Australia into the regional networks. It is indeed
in the vital interests of Indonesia to constructively engage
Australia, for politically it may serve as the bridging brick
between a western-based civilization of Australia with eastern-
based civilization of Southeast Asian countries whilst
economically this may prove to be the key to the survival of both
parties.

From the economic point of view, ASEAN is also very important
for Australia. Looking at some of the figures, the ten countries
of ASEAN have a combined population of around 550 million; a
total GDP at around US$682 billion.

The Australia-ASEAN- New Zealand Free Trade Agreement that was
announced on Nov. 30, 2004, with negotiations to commence
shortly, also offers a golden opportunity for Australia to
further economically excel together with countries in the region.

At the bilateral level, the trade volume between the two
countries is also encouraging. Indonesian exports to Australia
were US$2.46 billion (Jan.-Nov. 2004) and its imports from
Australia, US$2.19 billion (Jan.-Nov. 2004), leaving the balance
of trade in Indonesia's favor at US$273 million.

It is interesting to note that the recent improvements of
Indonesia -- Australia bilateral ties were achieved not by design
but basically by default or dictated by divine intervention
through tragedies, such as terrorist attacks and natural
disasters.

It is against this backdrop that Indonesia and Australia need
to consult and discuss matters of common concern in order to
avoid any misunderstandings and misapprehensions and to prevent
distrust from reigning again. The two nations should be able to
address tactfully, again, through dialogs and consultations, all
the sensitive issues, especially those directly affecting
Indonesia's national interests such as issues relating to travel
warnings, pre-emptive strikes, missile defense systems, and the
recently introduced Australian Maritime Identification Zone.

The writer is Indonesia's Ambassador to Australia. The article
was condensed from a speech he made at a Melbourne Town Hall
Forum on Australia-Indonesia: After the Tsunami organized by the
Asialink Centre and the Age newspaper last month.