Tony Abbott will have to work much harder to show he is a
reliable friend to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
If
Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono "is one of the best friends
we've ever had", as Tony Abbott has frequently stated, then Australia's
Prime Minister has not been afraid to test that friendship.
Mr
Abbott's uncompromising turn-back-the-boats policy has been an affront to the
country those boats were being turned back to, even before the Royal Australian
Navy breached Indonesian territorial waters on five occasions.
"Their
unilateral policy coerces asylum seekers, threatens them and violates their
human rights – and the policy doesn't bear fruit,'' said Indonesian Foreign
Minister Marty Natalegawa, only last month.
These
simmering tensions were exacerbated by Mr Abbott’s clumsy handling of
revelations that his predecessors had tapped the phones of Mr Yudhoyono and his
wife. US President Barack Obama and Germany's Angela Merkel had provided a
template for how to defuse an identical situation without conceding interests
but Mr Abbott chose not to take it.
Now,
the two nations are close to signing a code of conduct on intelligence sharing
and Mr Abbott’s hardline policies appear to have born fruit, to use Mr
Natalegawa’s phrase.
And,
crucially, Mr Abbott was correct in his estimation of the Indonesian President.
On
Wednesday, the two leaders stood together on Batam island, off the north coast
of Sumatra, to restart the project of building a productive, respectful and
enduring bilateral relationship.
"We
both discussed efforts to safeguard and to further enhance our co-operation and
also our partnership – the partnership between our two nations, our two
countries – so that we may come closer to a future that is much better based
upon the principles of mutual benefit and mutual respect," Mr Yudhoyono
said, after he had invited Mr Abbott to stop over on his way to Europe and
North America.
By
now, the necessity of building robust relations with our northern neighbour
should be self-evident. Indonesia has the world's fourth largest population and
it is home to the world’s largest Muslim population. It is a major source of
students and a destination for tourists.
The
Indonesian economy has grown rapidly to become the 10th largest in the world,
on the World Bank’s measure of purchasing power parity. And it is rediscovering
its position as the natural leader of the ASEAN nations of south-east Asia,
following its transition from Suharto's dictatorship.
Increasingly,
Indonesia and Australia are finding they have common ground in the South China
Sea, on the northern edge of Indonesia’s maritime boundary, where China has
been testing its territorial frontiers. This, no doubt, is what Mr Yudhoyono
was referring to when he told reporters he and Mr Abbott had discussed
"dynamics and the latest developments in our region".
Still,
despite the growing alignment of interests on both sides, Mr Yudhoyono did not
have to make this generous overture in the midst of a domestically-focused
election cycle. Indeed, he had been under considerable pressure to "get
tough" with his southern counterpart.
"He's
known as Australia's best friend, and no wonder,” the University of Indonesia's
Evi Fitriani told Associated Press last week.
The
onus is on Mr Abbott to make the most of the olive branch Mr Yudhoyono has
extended.
To
his credit, Mr Abbott has signalled that this is exactly what he intends to do.
On
Wednesday, he drew attention to the "marvellous legacy" of
"Bapak" Yudhoyono, using the respectful term for father.
"This
is a very important relationship to me, it's a very important relationship to
my country – in some respects, our most important relationship given
Indonesia's size, proximity and potential as one of the emerging democratic superpowers
of Asia," Mr Abbott said.
In
August, Indonesia will achieve a milestone in its democratic transition by
directly electing a new president, for the second time in its history. To date,
neither of the leading candidates, Prabowo Subianto and Joko "Jokowi"
Widodo, has shown much interest in foreign policy. They will have to be
convinced of enduring common interests before spending political capital on
building relations with their southern neighbour, when so much of the action in
the region will take place to their north.
After
the departure of "one of the best friends we've ever had", Mr Abbott
will have to work much harder to show he is a reliable friend of the emerging
democratic superpower of south-east Asia.
SMH
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