ID :
14278
Wed, 07/30/2008 - 07:47
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http://m.oananews.org//node/14278
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News Focus: INDONESIA EXPANDS COOPERATION IN DEFENCE WITH AUSTRALIA
By Eliswan AzlyJakarta, July 29 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is currently expanding its cooperation in defence with Australia as a manifestation of the Lombok Agreement serving as a legal umbrella for security and defense cooperation the two countries signed two years ago.
The closer cooperation could be seen in the dialogue held by the two countries' officials to strengthen defence cooperation especially in maritime security and anti terrorism drive.
"We also discussed what we had done in the past under a cooperation, and matters relating to stability in regional and global security as well as its impact," head of the Indonesian delegation to the sixth Indonesia-Australia Strategic Defence talks Maj Gen Sjarifuddin Tippe said here on Monday.
While the two countries are still facing various problems on their territorial sea boundaries which should be solved through a solid cooperation and coordination like joint security partrols, Sjarifuddin pointed out that the two countries agreed to strengthen confidence and mutual appreciation as well as respect in a bid to smoothly implement defence cooperation toward progress.
In addition, Indonesia and Australia also reached an agreement during the dialogue to increase the exchange of military officers, joint military exercises and patrol in territorial waters of the two countries, exchange of information, and intelligence activities.
Actually, the two countries had already started the implementation of their defence cooperation in 1968 in mapping in Indonesia. Then in the 1980s, the cooperation covered supervision of the Indonesia-Australia Defence Cooperation Program (DCP) under which meetings between two countries are held annually.
In 1999 the cooperation was discontinued following the East Timor crisis in 1999, marked with the relations of the two countries growing sour after a new country came into being. The only cooperation which was not affected by the new development was in the education sector. Later the two countries tried to resume their bilateral cooperation as was apparent in an informal meeting between Indonesian and Australian defence officers in 2001.
According to Sjarifuddin, Australia also supported the establishment of the Indonesian Defence University which is scheduled for dedication in February 2009. The support is given in the form of technical assistance to the sending of Australian lecturers to Indonesia and the other way around for a period of there years.
Some countries, including Germany, the United States, Japan, and Singapore, have already made a commitment to the establishment of an Indonesian Defence University.
Most of these countries will only provide such technical assistance, while the curriculum of the university is arranged by Indonesia.
"The most important thing is that we have never asked those countries to help us. We were merely introducing it and in fact many of them became interested, and expressed appreciation to take part in the process of teaching and studying at the Indonesian defence university," he said.
In view of these facts, Australia has a keen interest in bolstering their defence cooperation with Indonesia. Earlier, Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said Australia was still interested in strengthening stability in the Indonesian territory.
Indonesia was important to Australia, because this largest archipelagic country serves as a buffer state for problem from other countries such as Afghanistan and West Asia.
Therefore, Australia hoped that the capabilities of the Indonesian Defence Forces (TNI) could be stepped up to prevent and handle the various problems arising particularly from ship in Indonesian territorial waters carrying people from Indochina, Afghanistan and the Middle Middle entering Australian territory illegally.
In the meantime, an Australian opinion on Indonesia said that country did not wish Indonesia becoming too powerful militarily, because in the future it may pose a serious threat to Australia. But Australia also did not wish Indonesia to become too weak as it may cause various problems to Australia's internal affairs, especially in the political, economic and social sectors.
The current close defence cooperation between the two countries is also thanks to the recent signing of the Lombok Treaty by the two countries, Juwono said, adding that Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda initiated the deliberatons.
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda and his former counterpart Alexander Downer, signed the treaty on the West Nusa Tenggara island. Under the agreement the two countries pledged to develop a wide-ranging defense cooperation.
The treaty stipulated that neither country can support a third party who threatened another nation's domainor territorial integrity.
Former Australian Defence Minister Nelson said that under the agreement, both nations had access to cooperation in intelligence, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations as well as in counter-terrorism and maritime security operations.
He said the Lombok Agreement would serve as a legal umbrella for security and defense cooperation between the two countries. Deliberations on the Lombok Agreement were now taking place at the Foreign Ministry and the details of its implementation in the field were being formulated by the two countries' delegations.
Juwono said Indonesia-Australia defense and security cooperation as laid down in the Lombok Agreement also covered humanitarian affairs.
In the meantime, former Minister Brendan Nelson said that, under the agreement, the two countries would cooperate in peacekeeping operations, counter-terrorism in the form of exchange of intelligence, military, and humanitarian operations.
The two countries` cooperation covered among other things peace keeping operations, counter-terrorism and humanitarian operations such as already carried out by the two nations, he said.
The closer cooperation could be seen in the dialogue held by the two countries' officials to strengthen defence cooperation especially in maritime security and anti terrorism drive.
"We also discussed what we had done in the past under a cooperation, and matters relating to stability in regional and global security as well as its impact," head of the Indonesian delegation to the sixth Indonesia-Australia Strategic Defence talks Maj Gen Sjarifuddin Tippe said here on Monday.
While the two countries are still facing various problems on their territorial sea boundaries which should be solved through a solid cooperation and coordination like joint security partrols, Sjarifuddin pointed out that the two countries agreed to strengthen confidence and mutual appreciation as well as respect in a bid to smoothly implement defence cooperation toward progress.
In addition, Indonesia and Australia also reached an agreement during the dialogue to increase the exchange of military officers, joint military exercises and patrol in territorial waters of the two countries, exchange of information, and intelligence activities.
Actually, the two countries had already started the implementation of their defence cooperation in 1968 in mapping in Indonesia. Then in the 1980s, the cooperation covered supervision of the Indonesia-Australia Defence Cooperation Program (DCP) under which meetings between two countries are held annually.
In 1999 the cooperation was discontinued following the East Timor crisis in 1999, marked with the relations of the two countries growing sour after a new country came into being. The only cooperation which was not affected by the new development was in the education sector. Later the two countries tried to resume their bilateral cooperation as was apparent in an informal meeting between Indonesian and Australian defence officers in 2001.
According to Sjarifuddin, Australia also supported the establishment of the Indonesian Defence University which is scheduled for dedication in February 2009. The support is given in the form of technical assistance to the sending of Australian lecturers to Indonesia and the other way around for a period of there years.
Some countries, including Germany, the United States, Japan, and Singapore, have already made a commitment to the establishment of an Indonesian Defence University.
Most of these countries will only provide such technical assistance, while the curriculum of the university is arranged by Indonesia.
"The most important thing is that we have never asked those countries to help us. We were merely introducing it and in fact many of them became interested, and expressed appreciation to take part in the process of teaching and studying at the Indonesian defence university," he said.
In view of these facts, Australia has a keen interest in bolstering their defence cooperation with Indonesia. Earlier, Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said Australia was still interested in strengthening stability in the Indonesian territory.
Indonesia was important to Australia, because this largest archipelagic country serves as a buffer state for problem from other countries such as Afghanistan and West Asia.
Therefore, Australia hoped that the capabilities of the Indonesian Defence Forces (TNI) could be stepped up to prevent and handle the various problems arising particularly from ship in Indonesian territorial waters carrying people from Indochina, Afghanistan and the Middle Middle entering Australian territory illegally.
In the meantime, an Australian opinion on Indonesia said that country did not wish Indonesia becoming too powerful militarily, because in the future it may pose a serious threat to Australia. But Australia also did not wish Indonesia to become too weak as it may cause various problems to Australia's internal affairs, especially in the political, economic and social sectors.
The current close defence cooperation between the two countries is also thanks to the recent signing of the Lombok Treaty by the two countries, Juwono said, adding that Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda initiated the deliberatons.
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda and his former counterpart Alexander Downer, signed the treaty on the West Nusa Tenggara island. Under the agreement the two countries pledged to develop a wide-ranging defense cooperation.
The treaty stipulated that neither country can support a third party who threatened another nation's domainor territorial integrity.
Former Australian Defence Minister Nelson said that under the agreement, both nations had access to cooperation in intelligence, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations as well as in counter-terrorism and maritime security operations.
He said the Lombok Agreement would serve as a legal umbrella for security and defense cooperation between the two countries. Deliberations on the Lombok Agreement were now taking place at the Foreign Ministry and the details of its implementation in the field were being formulated by the two countries' delegations.
Juwono said Indonesia-Australia defense and security cooperation as laid down in the Lombok Agreement also covered humanitarian affairs.
In the meantime, former Minister Brendan Nelson said that, under the agreement, the two countries would cooperate in peacekeeping operations, counter-terrorism in the form of exchange of intelligence, military, and humanitarian operations.
The two countries` cooperation covered among other things peace keeping operations, counter-terrorism and humanitarian operations such as already carried out by the two nations, he said.
