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31. Security Treaty Signals Closer Canberra-Jakarta Ties
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Chapter
- Additional Information
31 Security Treaty Signals Closer Canberra-Jakarta Ties In a joint declaration in 2005, Prime Minister John Howard and President SB Yudhoyono described the AustraliaIndonesia relationship as “one of the most far reaching, high level interactions between two countries in the AsiaPacific .” The new Australia-Indonesia security agreement which came into force on 7 February 2008 symbolizes this vastly improved relationship since its lows in 1999 overAustralia’s intervention in East Timor (Timor-Leste). Known as the Agreement on the Framework for Security Cooperation or the Lombok treaty — first signed by the two Foreign Ministers in Lombok, Indonesia in November 2006 — it is meant to maintain the momentum in relations and to further institutionalise the security dimension. As a framework agreement, the Lombok treaty draws together different aspects of the extensive on-going security cooperation and provides the basis for the conclusion of other arrangements whenever deemed necessary by both parties. Apart from building defence relations, the treaty emphasises cooperation in non-traditional security, principally in relation to terrorism and transnational crime. Other areas covered Closer Canberra-Jakarta Ties 129 include maritime security, a priority concern for Australia, and nuclear cooperation for peaceful purposes and for nuclear non-proliferation. What has brought about this sea-change in AustraliaIndonesia relations in recent years? One crucial catalyst was the emergence of a common terrorist threat from Islamic radicals after 9/11 which forged a closer partnership between the police forces, immigration officials and security and intelligence services. Australia has assisted Indonesia significantly in counter-terrorism, including in post-bombing investigations and capacity building in a broad range of areas. The other important catalyst has been the changing geopolitical landscape in Asia because of the rising powers, especially China, which have been actively seeking to expand their influence. Indonesia wants to maintain its strategic autonomy in the face of the new challenges and it suits the interests of Australia and the West to assist it to do so and to strengthen their own links with Jakarta. Although the Suharto era is gone, the present ruling circles in Jakarta are adhering to the long standing foreign policy of active independence and non-alignment, with a measure of quiet tilt towards the West. In the strategic geography of Asia, Australia remains a fulcrum of the Western strategic/military interests, even as it seeks to pursue its own economic and security interests. The text of the Lombok treaty makes no mention of mutual defence that was implied in discreet language in the 1995 treaty negotiated between President Suharto and the Keating government which was unilaterally torn up by the Indonesians in 1999 when bilateral relations soured. [54.160.243.44] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 15:18 GMT) 130 By Design or Accident The 1995 treaty was apparently spurred by tensions in the South China Sea and the implications of China’s claims in that sea for Indonesian territory. Since then the South China Sea issue has been anaesthetized, at least for the time being, and Jakarta’s relations with China have improved and expanded, in tandem with those of other regional countries. Though underlying wariness and suspicions about China will likely persist in Jakarta, it has no desire or need, at least as of now, for a similar explicit mutual defence clause in the Lombok treaty. Given Indonesia’s domestic sensitivities over its past experience with Australia on Timor-Leste and the present simmering separatist sentiment in its Papua province, the Lombok treaty embodies a mutual undertaking not to support activities which constitute a threat to the stability or territorial integrity of either party, “including those who seek to use its territory for encouraging or committing such activities, including separatism, in the territory of the other.” Yet Indonesia probably realizes that in practice such a commitment cannot be absolute and unconditional, especially since it is made subject to domestic laws and international obligations of both countries, with the implication that both have human rights obligations under international law. In view of the continuing antipathy to Indonesia among the media and some other circles inAustralia, it is interesting that theAustralian Parliament’s Joint Committee on Treaties has recommended that the government engage in a campaign to increase public support for the Australia-Indonesia relationship, including increasing awareness of democratic reforms in Indonesia and the value to Australian security of strong relations with Indonesia. Closer Canberra-Jakarta Ties 131 Australia’s security role in the region has been multifaceted and positive. Given Indonesia’s geopolitical position in...