| Home > South-East Asia >> Indonesia | |
Australia plans more defence exchanges with Indonesia
Australian Financial Review - December 20, 2015
Defence Minister Marise Payne foreshadowed more personnel exchanges to boost the relationship after agreeing well ahead of time to renew and refurbish the existing agreement which expires in 2017.
But Indonesia's Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu injected some tough words into a bilateral meeting in Sydney on Monday telling Australians no change was possible to Indonesia's control of Papua and the refugee issue was not a security threat.
General Ryacudu described the asylum seeker issue, which has caused many recent bilateral tensions, as "not a threat but a bit of a hassle" when listing the important bilateral issues.
This prompted Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to restate the federal government's long-standing position that its refugee policies were focused on saving lives.
General Ryacudu said defence co-operation had produced lots of positive results over 50 years and the co-operation should be extended further but Indonesia did not want its national policies to be disrupted.
Papua off-limits
He said Papua, where independence advocates draw support from some civil groups in Australia, was part of the united Indonesian republic. "There is no other solution to talk about. This is it."
Ms Bishop, Senator Payne, General Ryacudu and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi were meeting in the third combined defence and foreign ministers meeting following a substantial warming of bilateral ties in the past three months, with 15 different bilateral ministerial visits since August.
Underlining the burst of ministerial meetings, the Sydney meeting coincided with a visit to Jakarta by Attorney-General George Brandis and Justice Minister Michael Keenan.
Ms Bishop and Ms Marsudi said they had met six times this year which they suggested was more than with most other foreign ministerial counterparts. Ms Marsudi said a decision had been taken to focus on areas of co-operation rather than differences. They emphasised that they talk even more via text.
Senator Payne said the defence forces had very strong people-to-people contact and she was committed to continuing this. She said Australia had agreed to renew its defence co-operation agreement with Indonesia and planned more joint exercises in disaster and humanitarian relief.
Speaking before the meeting, General Ryacudu fondly recalled his relationship with Australian senior officers forged in the countries' joint peacekeeping operations in Cambodia in the early 1990s. He met former generals John Sanderson and Peter Leahy during the visit.
Gift from God
"We are really determined to continue to be friends," General Ryacudu said. He said Australia's geographic location beside Indonesia was a gift from God and could not be changed.
The defence and foreign ministers discussed rising tensions in the South China Sea over territory but General Ryacudu suggested tensions would ease with better communications among the rival claimants. Ms Bishop said Australia would continue its flyovers in the area in line with international law as it had done in the past.
Australian military co-operation with Indonesia was once controversial because of human rights by some parts of the Indonesian military but the military has now largely withdrawn from a direct role in politics and has developed a close relationship with Australia to counter terrorism.
On Sunday, Indonesian police arrested nine suspected Islamic State supporters who were allegedly preparing terror attacks later this month, possibly on New Year's Eve in Jakarta. The arrests followed a reported tip-off from the Australian Federal Police underlining how regions appear to be back on a stable footing after a fast escalation of ministerial exchanges over the past three months.
Ms Marsudi cautioned about jumping to conclusions about the arrests but welcomed co-operation with Australia in general over counter-terrorism.
See also:
 |