Introduction Since World War II, Australia has been active as an independent nation in international affairs. The aid of Australia to Indonesia is important in assisting the near neighbor. Not only establishing a more prosperous and democratic society, but also in strengthening the two countries relationship. Indonesia is so valuable to Australia because it is located strategically astride Australia’s northern approaches, through which more than half of exports pass. Indonesia is the largest country in South East Asia, both in terms of geography and population. Australia has also benefited for many years from Indonesian policies and actions that have advanced regional cooperation and stability in South East Asia and the wider Asia Pacific region. Body Australia’s bilateral relationship with Indonesia encompasses a wide range of interests, including political ties, trade and investment, people-to-people links, education, tourism, development cooperation and cultural exchanges. High-level government-to-government contact in recent years has strengthened bilateral cooperation on a range of important issues, including countering terrorism and people smuggling. The Australian Governments says that good governance is a vital plank of aid to Indonesia. Indonesia has only minor improvements in human rights since the fall of . There has been a continuing problem of lack of understanding and respect in human rights within the military in particular, undermines military-civilian relations. The Australian government on their part placed a real priority on activity which promotes human rights both in legal and institutional structures, and grassroots levels. Australia aided Indonesia program which contribute to strengthening of transparent, accountable and effective legal and judicial systems. Australia is committed to assisting Indonesia’s economic and social development; Indonesia was the second largest recipient of Australian aid in the budget for 2004-05. In support of Indonesia’s democratic development, Australia has provided capacity building and training assistance to the Indonesian Election Commission and sent observer missions to Indonesia’s presidential and parliamentary elections in 2004. Indonesia itself has undergone a rapid transformation from an authoritarian military state to one with a democratically elected president. In 1992, the Australia-Indonesia Ministerial Forum was established. It provides key platform for the two governments in expanding its bilateral economic ties. Also, an Australia-Indonesia Trade Ministers’ meeting takes place annually. Indonesia is Australia’s tenth largest export destination, with exports of goods and services valued at $2.8b and $1b respectively in 2003. Australia’s major merchandise exports to Indonesia are cotton, aluminum and live animals. Australia is also a major exporter of education services to Indonesia, with over 17,000 Indonesian students studying in Australia. Australia promotes understanding and exchanges between the two countries through the Australia-Indonesia Institute. Indonesian government welcomed the 33 per cent increase in the bilateral development cooperation program over the past two years to a$160.8 million. This will augment existing support in the critical areas of economic reform and governance, health, education, legal, human rights and judicial reform. Ministers noted the importance of the support for advancing Indonesia's reform program. Indonesian Ministers welcomed Australia's increased support for basic education which was an investment in Indonesia's future prosperity. Australia's major scholarship program was making a significant contribution to Indonesia's human resource development. Ministers expressed deep concern about the growing problem of communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS, in Indonesia, and welcomed the increased focus through Australia's development cooperation program on this issue in our health program. Australia's development cooperation program would continue to have a significant focus on Eastern Indonesia. Australia's interests
The 1997 White Paper on Australia's foreign and trade policy included the following assessment:
Australia's relations with Indonesia will always be fundamentally important. This reflects Indonesia's strategic location astride Australian's northern approaches through which 60 per cent of Australia's exports pass, and its size-Indonesia is by far the largest and most populous country in Australia's immediate vicinity.
Australia and Indonesia share significant strategic interests and an expanding structure of consultation and cooperation on strategic issues.
In the 1990’s, Australia’s strengths with Indonesia on the bilateral relationships were built particularly on trading links, development assistance programs and growing defense cooperation. But despite of the increasing strength of the bilateral relationship, there has been tension between Australia and Indonesia during the 1990’s. It’s mainly because of the issue about East Timor, Indonesia and South East Asia’s economic crisis, concerns on the future of political leadership in Indonesia and Australia regarding corruption and reports of human’s right abuses in Indonesia.
Relations suffered significantly as a result of Indonesia's responses to perceived criticisms from Australia on a number of sensitive issues, including:
- East Timor's struggle for independence and the Dili massacre in 1991;
- Suppression of separatist movements and the outbreaks of communal violence in various parts of the archipelago;
- The role of the Indonesian Armed forces (TNI) in civil government; and
- Allegations of political corruption and reports of human rights abuses.
While tensions are still apparent, there have been signs of encouragement progress in achieving dialogue Australia-Indonesia Ministerial Forum and Australia's overall trade with Indonesia is currently at its highest recorded level. The special autonomy agreements proposed recently by the Indonesian Government to the provinces of Aceh and Papua also represent a significant shift in their relations with the central government.
Australia and Indonesia had given further impetus to an already strong bilateral relationship, with a range of new cooperative initiatives. There was expansion of practical bilateral cooperation on key issues of shared concern. The December 26, 2004 tsunami which devastated Aceh and Northern Sumatra and the quick and generous Australian response demonstrated not only that Australia and Indonesia are close neighbors, but also strong partners. This joint relief effort had opened a new chapter in bilateral relations, building on a very strong foundation of bilateral engagement. Australia and Indonesia share many key political, security and economic interests. Terrorism Australia and Indonesia's prosperity, security and stability are inextricably linked. Both nations focused their strong commitment to working closely together to combat terrorism. Australia's development assistance program for Indonesia is making a significant contribution to security, economic reform and in support of Indonesia's democratic transition. Both nations welcomed bilateral initiatives on counter-terrorism, including transport security and customs capacity-building; anti-money laundering; electoral assistance; and Interfaith cooperation. They underlined the importance of continuing to strengthen people-to-people contacts, including education links. They welcomed the intention to sign a new Treaty on Science and Technology Collaboration, which is expected to enhance scientific cooperation in many fields, particularly in the food and energy sectors. Ministers welcomed the establishment of the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AIPRD), which presents an historic opportunity to bring the people of Australia and Indonesia closer together to support Indonesia's recovery from the tremendous damage wreaked by the tsunami. Through the Partnership, A$1 billion will be committed over five years for reconstruction and development efforts both in Aceh and North Sumatra, as well as in Indonesia more broadly. Out of the destruction caused by the tsunami, Ministers look forward to working in close cooperation to build a new future and to continue to strengthen the relationship between Australia and Indonesia. Ministers welcomed the decision of the first AIPRD Joint Commission, held in association with the Ministerial Forum, to agree to a set of principles to guide implementation of the AIPRD and on early priority activities for funding, including investments in the health system in Aceh and assistance with critical disaster preparedness and disaster management arrangements in Indonesia. Australia has an agreement with Indonesia on maintaining security forged by the Keating Government in the dying stages of the Soeharto regime, brokered and agreed to behind closed doors, was one of the least edifying episodes in bilateral relations. It was signed in December 1995, it fully reflected Australia's position as the only Western country to recognize Indonesia's annexation of East Timor as lawful. Both nations condemned in the strongest terms acts of terrorism, including attacks on the Australian Embassy and the Marriott Hotel and in Bali, which have claimed many innocent lives. They still acknowledged that terrorism continued to pose a serious threat to the region's peace, security and economic prosperity. Ministers noted that a sustained and concerted regional counter-terrorism effort would be required for the long term and reaffirmed their strong commitment to fight terrorism. Ministers welcomed the excellent cooperation between Indonesian and Australian police, intelligence and security agencies in combating terrorism and highlighted the importance of their ongoing efforts. This would remain a major bilateral priority. Ministers welcomed the launch and role of the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation in developing the capacity of regional law enforcement agencies to combat transnational crime and terrorism. Ministers commended the work of the Law Enforcement Working Group and the Legal Issues Working Group, established by the Bali Regional Ministers Meeting on Counter-Terrorism in February 2004, and looked forward to the reports from both groups later in 2005. Australian Ministers reiterated the Australian Government's commitment to support the development of regional capacity to fight terrorism and noted the decision to double Australia's counter-terrorism assistance to Indonesia. Ministers commended Australia- Indonesia transport security capacity-building initiatives which will facilitate Indonesia's ability to establish its own security training programs. They welcomed the February 2005 commencement of customs capacity-building assistance to enhance Indonesian Customs' intelligence development and port and ship search and surveillance capabilities. Ministers expressed a hope that the Arrangement on the Joint Australia-Indonesia Aviation Security Capacity-Building Project could be signed as soon as possible. Australia is also providing significant assistance for enhancing Indonesia's border control passenger movement alert checking system. Ministers expressed appreciation of a strong and ongoing extradition and mutual assistance relationship, notwithstanding the differences between legal systems. Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Both nations expressed their commitment to eliminating money laundering and terrorist financing in their respective region. Ministers welcomed the announcement by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that Indonesia has been delisted from FATF's list of Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories. They noted the significant steps taken by Indonesia to strengthen its anti-money laundering regime and to address issues raised by FATF in its letter. Ministers welcomed the Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2004 between the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) and AUSTRAC on Cooperation in the Exchange of Financial Intelligence. Support for anti-money laundering initiatives in Indonesia will remain a key focus for Australian assistance, with Australian Ministers announcing an additional a$2 million for anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing capacity-building assistance. People Smuggling and Trafficking Both nations noted that people smuggling and trafficking remained threats to national security. However, they recognized that the determined and effective bilateral cooperation between law enforcement and immigration authorities had contributed to a significant reduction in maritime people smuggling activities. Ministers also expressed satisfaction with continued close bilateral cooperation between Australia and Indonesia as co-chairs of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and related Transnational Crime. Ministers noted that the Bali Process continued to provide an excellent framework for regional cooperation. Practical activities successfully delivered under the Bali Process over the last year included law enforcement targeting of people smugglers and traffickers, the development of bilateral arrangements on the return of unlawful migrants, reconciling legitimate state interest to control immigration with refugee protection, best practices in operational cooperation and the protection of victims of trafficking in persons. Ministers also noted the effective bilateral cooperation between the Directorate-General of Immigration at the Department of Law and Human Rights and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs and the valuable work of the Joint Working Group on Immigration in areas such as strengthening border management and information sharing to deterring illegal people movements. Ministers underlined the importance they attached to criminalizing people smuggling.
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