Australia and Indonesia yesterday said that full military ties between the two countries had been restored, after the Indonesian military last month suspended cooperation because of “insulting” teaching material found at an Australian base.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull made the announcement alongside Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who arrived in Australia on Saturday for his first visit as president.
“President Widodo and I have agreed to full restoration of defense cooperation, training exchanges and activities,” Turnbull said at a news conference in Sydney.
Photo: Reuters
Widodo’s visit to Australia comes less than two months after military ties were suspended, an event that sparked a minor diplomatic spat and this month led to an apology from the chief of the Australian army.
Military cooperation between the two countries has ranged from joint training and counterterrorism cooperation to border protection.
The “insulting” material suggested that Indonesia’s Papua Province should be independent and mocked the nation’s state ideology.
Indonesia and Australia have a history of patchy ties, but both leaders were keen to emphasise their commitment to a strong relationship.
“That robust relationship can be established when both countries have respect for each other’s territorial integrity, non-interference into the domestic affairs of each other and the ability to develop a mutually beneficial partnership,” Widodo said.
While the primary focus of the visit was on security and economic issues, including the finalization of a bilateral free-trade deal by the end of the year, talks touched on tourism, cybersecurity and social links.
Widodo on Saturday met Australian business leaders, telling them that investor confidence in Indonesia was strong and reassuring them that Indonesia is a stable country in which to do business.
Following one-on-one talks, Turnbull said tariffs would be cut for Australian sugar and Indonesian pesticides and herbicides.
He also praised changes to the export rules for live Australian cattle.
Widodo said he was confident that a free-trade deal would be finalized this year.
“I have conveyed to Prime Minister Turnbull some of the key issues,” he said. “First, is the removal of barriers to trade, tariffs and non-tariffs for Indonesian products such as Indonesia’s paper and palm oil.”
Widodo last week told the Australian newspaper he would like to see joint patrols with Australia in the South China Sea if they did not further inflame tensions with China.
China — which claims almost the entire sea region — irked Indonesia last year by saying the two countries had “overlapping claims” to waters close to them, an area Indonesia calls the Natuna Sea.
The leaders stopped short of announcing joint patrols yesterday, but stressed the importance of resolving disputes peacefully and in accordance to international law.
“As maritime nations and trading nations, Australia and Indonesia are natural partners with common interests,” Turnbull said.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS