Australian Prime Minister John Howard denied that he would sign a security pact with Indonesia's president today at a meeting to heal a diplomatic rift between the two countries.
"There won't be any security pact signed," Howard told reporters ahead of his departure for visits to Indonesia and China.
"The suggestion that a security pact would come out of these discussions is not one that came from me or from the Australian side," he said.
Howard is due to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the island of Batam today for the first time since Australia granted temporary protection visas to 42 Papuans in March, infuriating Jakarta.
Indonesia saw the move as showing Australian support for an independent Papua and withdrew its ambassador from Canberra in retaliation.
The ambassador returned several weeks later after Howard pledged to pass new immigration legislation which would make it difficult for any more Papuans to seek asylum in Australia.
A backbench revolt last week forced Howard to make concessions and delay the legislation, however, which leaves him empty-handed for the meeting.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said last month that Australia would formally recognize Indonesia's sovereignty over the troubled province of Papua in a new security agreement which would probably be discussed at the talks.
All Howard said yesterday, however, was that Australia supported Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua.
"This issue is one that has to be resolved with Papua as part of Indonesia," he said. "We are ready to help in any way we can in that process."
Also high on the agenda will be Australia's concern over the release from jail this month of radical Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual leader of extremist Islamic group Jemaah Islamiyah.
Bashir had served less than 26 months for conspiracy over the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, and Howard has said he would tell Yudhoyono of Australian anger over Bashir's release.
Howard wrote to the Indonesian president to note that the UN Security Council had listed the cleric as a terrorist and that he was subject to an assets freeze, restricted travel and a ban on accessing arms.
"I will certainly be raising that and my position is set out in the letter that I wrote," Howard said.
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