Tsunami pushes Australia and Indonesia closer

Tsunami pushes Australia and Indonesia closer

Reuters, Jakarta

For decades the prospect of Australian troops landing in a rebellious Indonesian province was a prospect that could fill leaders in both Jakarta and Canberra with dread.

But when Australia's HMAS Kanimbla arrived off the coast of Sumatra on Thursday on a mercy mission for the tsunami-stricken people of Aceh, it marked a milestone in improving ties between the long-wary neighbors.

Jumping at the chance to enhance ties with the world's most- populous Muslim nation and its first directly elected president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Australia was quick to offer help after the Dec. 26 quake and tsunami.

Prime Minister John Howard's conservative government made its single largest aid contribution of A$1 billion (US$765 million) over five years to help with reconstruction and development in Aceh, where almost all Indonesia's 106,500 deaths occurred.

"We intend to demonstrate that we are in every sense a regional mate as far as Indonesia is concerned," Howard said.

Analysts say Australia stands to benefit from its speedy response to its neighbor despite fears among some Indonesians about the presence of foreign troops -- including some from the United States -- in Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra.

"(The aid relief effort) provides some sort of awareness of the ties between Australia and Indonesia," Australian National University political analyst Harold Crouch told Reuters by telephone.

"There has been a strong public reaction and universal support virtually for what Howard has done."

Australia has struggled to balance its close alliance with the United States with its geographical position in Asia.

But after easily winning a fourth straight term in office at an election in October and realizing the importance of Asia in the war on terror, the government vowed to work more closely with its neighbors and Howard focused on closer ties with Susilo.

Howard has at times tested the country's relationship with Asia, alarming neighbors with announcements that reinforced his 1999 description of Australia as a U.S. "deputy sheriff" in Asia.

Australia has adopted an interventionist policy in the South Pacific following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, fearing instability in its small island neighbors could create havens for drug traffickers, smugglers and terror groups.

Howard caused more alarm when he recently repeated his view that pre-emptive strikes on another country were a legitimate response to terrorist threats, and announced plans for a regional spy school and for counter-terrorism teams in Asia.

Australian National University political analyst Michael McKinley said the war on terror was a key issue where Australia and Indonesia see eye to eye.

"One of the best ways of stopping Islamic extremism growing would be to reconstruct the place (Aceh) pretty quickly. The Indonesians and the Australians are at one on that," McKinley told Reuters.

About 85 percent of Indonesians are Muslim, while in Aceh Muslims make up 98 percent of the population.

The province has also been the scene of a separatist rebellion with GAM (Free Aceh Movement) waging a three-decade battle against the government for independence.

Despite concerns that some Western aid groups might promote overtly Christian goals, analysts expect the scale of the disaster to override lingering suspicions.

"The Acehnese simply want immediate aid and I don't think they give a damn where it comes from," McKinley said.

"The rest of Indonesia could be suspicious (of aid agencies motives), but I suspect if aid organizations can get in and out quickly the rest of Indonesia won't care too much."