Tag Archives: AUSTRALIA-INDONESIA RELATIONS

Papua Controversy

I have been sent a link by an Indonesian acquaintance about being accused, on CNN Indonesia, by a senior former Indonesian general of being involved in, or behind, recent unrest in West Papua. https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20171215172134-12-262710/akademisi-australia-diduga-terlibat-gejolak-papua This allegation is quite untrue. In that same statement, the former general also vastly exaggerated my role in Timor-Leste in 1999. […]

We talk with Indonesia every day — but is anyone listening?

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop “insists” that Australia’s relationship with Indonesia is “very positive”. But Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa is equally insistent that there is a serious problem with the relationship. If there is regular dialogue between Australia and Indonesia, as Bishop claims, it would seem it is being conducted at cross purposes. Bishop […]

Indonesian lessons for choppy East Timor waters

The Coalition government’s first months in office have been a crash course in regional politics, with somewhat more emphasis on the “crash”. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has now put in place the first of what is expected to be six steps to repair Australia’s damaged relationship with Indonesia, while relations with East Timor are being […]

With Indonesia, the relationship is going from bad to worse

Australia’s relationship with Indonesia is at one of its historic low points, despite claims to the contrary by Prime Minister Tony Abbott. What is unusual about this most recent contretemps with Indonesia, with which Australia has previously had several difficulties, is that, unlike in the past, the current problems are entirely a consequence of Australian […]

We've always spied on Indonesia – and they've spied on us too

With much of the recent discussion about countries spying on each other, the only startling thing is that anyone would bother to feign surprise. Indonesia and Australia have long spied on each other, and they have both known about it. The main distinctions between Australia and Indonesia’s intelligence activities are their methods and who they […]