Vaile: Australia not planning countermeasures tin RI row
Vaile: Australia not planning countermeasures tin RI row
SINGAPORE (AFP): Australia said Friday that it would keep up exports of major commodities to Indonesia and not impose countermeasures amid a row between the two countries over troubled East Timor.
"In terms of trade, we're not planning any, in terms of interrupting our trade with Indonesia," Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile said when asked about the possibility of Australia imposing its own embargo on Indonesia.
"We understand and are concerned with some of the comments but to date there has been no interruption to the trade in terms of the main commodities with Indonesia," Vaile said. The commodities include cotton, wheat and beef.
Vaile spoke at a media briefing after he and New Zealand International Trade Minister Lockwood Smith met their counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss trade ties.
Vaile said Australia would be concerned if Indonesia pushed through with an embargo but it "will try to keep the issues separated because our relationship (with Indonesia) is one that is deeply valued by Australia."
Relations between the two countries have turned frosty due to Australia's criticism of Indonesia's handling of the East Timor violence and Canberra's role in the deployment of an international peacekeeping force there.
Anti-Australian rallies in Indonesia have increased since Australia was appointed to lead the UN-sanctioned multinational force for East Timor, following chaos in the territory after its people voted for separation from Indonesia.
Australian firms engaged in business with importers in Indonesia "are maintaining contact on a daily basis discussing arrangements for the future," Vaile said.
"I had a meeting with the Australian Wheat Board yesterday ... and the indication from the wheat board was there was no interruption in the trade," he added.
Two-way trade between Australia and Indonesia is worth about A$5.5 billion (US$3.52 billion) annually but the Indonesians enjoy a 1.4 billion dollar trade surplus, largely due to Australian imports of crude oil and petroleum products.
Australia's exports of cotton to Indonesia hover around A$300 million, while wheat amounts to A$270 million, Vaile said.
Indonesia's Trade and Industry Minister Rahardi Ramelan has accused Australia of mixing politics with trade and warned that Jakarta might expand a campaign to cut its commodity imports from Australia.
He charged that Australian unions which staged a boycott of Indonesian cargo over the East Timor crisis sparked off the trade problem.