Indonesia and Australia yesterday finalized a new bilateral defense treaty that would enhance the two nations’ ability to operate their militaries in each other’s territory.
The agreement was reached as Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto, who also serves as defense minister, met with Australian officials at the Australian parliament earlier yesterday.
The bilateral relationship is becoming increasingly important to Australians in face of growing tensions with China. The pact is to be signed within days, when Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles visits Jakarta.
Photo: AFP / Prabowo Media Team
Marles said the successful conclusion of negotiations after two years was significant for both countries’ national security.
“What this agreement will do is provide for much greater interoperability between our defense forces, it will provide for much more exercises between our defense forces, it will see us working together the global commons to support the rules-based order and, importantly, it will allow us to operate from each other’s countries,” Marles told reporters.
“And in that sense, this agreement will be the deepest, the most significant agreement that our two countries have ever made,” he said.
Prabowo described the agreement as “ironing out some legalistic details” and said that it achieved “great progress” in the two countries’ defense cooperation.
Euan Graham, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, questioned the pact’s strategic value to Australia.
Prabowo made clear that Indonesia would remain non-aligned under his leadership, Graham said.
This means Indonesia will remain among a group of countries that do not want to be officially aligned with or against any major power bloc such as the US.
“The issue is that Indonesia doesn’t share the same threat perception as Australia towards China,” he added.
With about 275 million people, Indonesia has 10 times the population of Australia, which has fewer than 27 million people.
Prabowo's overnight Canberra visit was his first to Australia since he was elected president in February.
He noted that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was the first foreign leader to congratulate him on his election victory.
“We have had our ups and downs as the political situation and the geopolitical situation of course evolved, but I think we are very happy today to have several decades of very close cooperation,” Prabowo told reporters, adding that he was determined to continue “this good neighbor relationship.”
Albanese said he looked forward to attending Prabowo's inauguration on Oct. 20.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College