RI-Australia’s roller-coaster relations

JAKARTA. Vice President Boediono and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott held a bilateral meeting in Canberra on Wednesday amid strained relations over Australia’s alleged wiretapping operations in Jakarta and Indonesia’s refusal to accept a boatload of asylum seekers rescued by an Australian vessel.

Both leaders reiterated the importance of good relations between the two neighboring countries and that the latest incidents that led to officials in Jakarta and Canberra exchanging verbal blows would not disrupt mutual cooperation.

Boediono’s adviser, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, said as quoted by Antara that the bilateral meeting was proof that relations with Australia were fine. “When the Vice President arrived in Canberra, he was greeted by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop,” Dewi said.

“That proves Australia wants to show that relations between the two countries are good.”

Dewi said the Vice President raised the boat people and alleged spying issues during the meeting with Abbott. “The wiretapping issue is a big concern for Indonesians,” she said.

A resolution between the two countries regarding the boat people issue seems unlikely for the time being. Dewi previously said Indonesia and Australia were currently in talks over a new deal on asylum seekers, but Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said there was no such deal and Dewi was not authorized to speak on the matter.

Djoko has made strong statements criticizing the Australian government’s “turn the boats back” policy, saying that Canberra should take the asylum seekers to their detention centers, not to Indonesia.

Speaking at the Australian National University (ANU) after being awarded an honorary doctorate for social sciences, Boediono said that Indonesia and Australia were destined to be partners, therefore, strengthening relations of both countries was important. He said the focus should be on maintaining good long term relations rather than being distracted by “glitches”.

As part of his tour, Boediono and Abbott inaugurated the Australian-Indonesia Center, which will be located at Monash University in Melbourne.

The Australian government pledged AU$15 million to the center, which is hoped to strengthen business, education and research cooperation with Indonesia. The center will facilitate joint research on issues such as infrastructure and food security.

Dewi said the center would foster Australian students’ interest and understanding of Indonesia. Abbott said as quoted by Antara that education cooperation between the two countries needed to be increased.

Teuku Rezasyah, a lecturer at Padjajaran University, said that relations between the two were like a roller coaster and that the current issues would pass in due course.

“We’ve had our highs and lows, with events such as the Indonesian confrontation, the Timor Leste debacle and now the wiretapping issue,” he said.

Boediono is in Australia until Nov. 16, visiting Perth, Canberra and Melbourne. Canberra was the second stop during his official visit.

On Sunday, his delegation was in Perth, Western Australia, at the invitation of the University of Western Australia and the Premier of Western Australia Colin Barnett.

After Canberra, the Vice President will travel to Melbourne before returning to Indonesia on Saturday. (The Jakarta Post)