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Australia and Indonesia sign spying code of conduct
The Guardian (Australia) - August 28, 2014
The document, described as a "joint understanding on a code of conduct", commits Australia and Indonesia not to use intelligence to harm the other.
Indonesia suspended aspects of cooperation with Australia after revelations published by Guardian Australia and the ABC that the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, had been a target of spy activities.
A 2009 document leaked by the former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden indicated Australia's spy agencies had attempted to listen in on the personal phone calls of Yudhoyono and targeted the mobile phones of his wife, senior ministers and confidants.
The Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, and her Indonesian counterpart, Marty Natalegawa, spoke of the strength of the relationship as they signed the joint understanding in Bali on Thursday.
Yudhoyono witnessed the formal signing, which was greeted with applause. The outgoing president said he hoped for the close relationship with Australia to be restored.
"I wish you well with this work that you have completed, I'm hoping that cooperation can be revived again, military to military cooperation, bilateral cooperation and many others," he told the ministers. "I am hoping, personally, that we could go back to our strong relations and effective cooperation."
Natalegawa said the agreement would enhance cooperation between the two contracts, including in the area of intelligence.
"The basic message is with the signing of this code of conduct we are back to where we have been in terms of Indonesia-Australia relations," Natalegawa said.
"I have every confidence... that Indonesia-Australia relations will get back to where it has been and not only are we going to be back to where it has been but actually as a matter of fact it will be even more enhanced in the future."
Bishop said she was delighted to be signing the joint understanding as it would "further strengthen and enhance" the relationship. Both countries believed a strong intelligence partnership was vital to "defeat those who would do harm to people of Australia and the people of Indonesia".
The two-page joint understanding, released on Thursday evening, builds on the Lombok treaty between the two countries. Apart from a statement of principles and regular intelligence agency meetings, the document contains two commitments.
The first says Australia and Indonesia "will not use any of their intelligence, including surveillance capacities, or other resources, in ways that would harm the interests of the parties".
The second point says: "The parties will promote intelligence cooperation between the relevant institutions and agencies in accordance with their respective national laws and regulations."
Before leaving Australia to sign the agreement, Bishop said the government looked forward to resuming all cooperation with Indonesia on areas suspended in the wake of "the Snowden allegations". These included the areas of intelligence, defence and border protection cooperation.
Bishop said Australia's bilateral relationship with Indonesia was "one of our most important foreign policy priorities".
The Australian opposition's foreign affairs spokeswoman, Tanya Plibersek, welcomed the agreement. "Given cooperation between our two nations had been suspended in critical areas like defence and people smuggling for almost nine months, we are disappointed it took the Abbott government so long to reach agreement with Indonesia," she said on Thursday.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/28/australia-and-indonesia-sign-spying-code-of-conduct.
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