The Fluctuation Relations

Australia – Indonesia

Australia and Indonesia are two neighboring countries. The

geographical location has made the two nations to feel the need of each other.

History wrote the relationship between Australia and Indonesia started long

before Indonesia declared its independence.

Australian Aborigines people were said to have traded with Indonesia’s

Makassar tribe since the 16th century. There was even a picture drew by the

Aborigines about the Makassar people who came to Australia with their boat.

Australian Consul-General in Makassar, Richard Matthews once said,

Makassar and the Aborigines language shared some similarities.

1
 During the World War II, modern Australian then called their nearest

neighbor as the Netherlands East Indies, and they were allies, fighting against

the Japanese. Netherlands East Indies (NEI) Squadron was a joint Dutch and

Australian bomber squadron of World War II formed in the early 1940’s. The

squadron was staffed by a mixture of Dutch and Australian personnel and

placed under Royal Australian Air Force operational command.

When Soekarno proclaimed the independence of Indonesia on Friday, 17

August 1945, the Indonesian Nationalist made a clear statement to oppose the

return of the Dutch to the Netherlands East Indies.

The Australian Labor government took the position to support the

Indonesian nationalist instead of the Dutch. This position was taken based on

the rights of self-government for the dependent peoples enshrined in the

United Nations Charter and championed by Australia (Ismail, 2010).

Even after Soekarno declared Indonesia’s independence, the Dutch still

wished to reoccupy its colony. Indonesian nationalists in Australia lobbied the

Australian government and forged strong links with the trade unions.

2
 In a show of solidarity, over 4,000 Australian waterfront workers joined

Indonesian crew members in a strike and refused to load Dutch ships carrying

arms and supplies, declaring such ships 'black.' The blockade was a high point

in the relationship between Australia and Indonesia. It established a bond of

friendship between the two nations which made later tensions in the

relationship less acute (http://www.abc.net.au).

There was a famous statement from Sutan Sjahrir, Indonesia’s first

prime minister, who thanked Australia through a radio address in November

1945.

“I am unknown to most of you, and yet I call you my friends,” he said.

“The workers who refused to load Dutch ships with arms and munitions,

which would be used against our republic, the thousands holding

demonstrations, the thousands who sympathise with our struggle for freedom,

you are all my friends.”

Although Australia strongly supported the aspirations of Indonesian

nationalists, and encouraged the Dutch to accept the possibility of Indonesian

independence, it did not recognise the de facto authority of the Republic until

3
9 July 1947. Even then, this recognition applied only to territory the Republic

physically controlled (principally Sumatra, Java and Madura). The rest of the

region remained under Dutch colonial rule. (http://guides.naa.gov.au)

Australia support towards Indonesia’s independence continued as they

agreed to represent Indonesia at United Nations-sponsored peace negotiations

with Belgium, which represented the Netherlands and the United States

(chosen by both sides) in 1948. A couple of years later, in 28 September 1950,

Indonesia officially became the 60th member of the United Nations.

During the cold war era, Soekarno played an international politics,

flirting with the U.S.S.R, People Republic of China, Cuba and the United

States. Although Soekarno was never claimed to be a communist, however He

maintained close relations with the PKI, the Indonesian Communist Party.

Soekarno became the center of the world’s attention and his ideology and

foreign policy often made the allied countries nervous.

Indonesia began to have a tension with Australian during The

Indonesian–Malaysian confrontation conflict from 1963– 1966. In which

Indonesia, under Soekarno’s administration, opposed the forming of

4
Malaysian Federation as he mentioned it merely as the British Puppet and it

was a new form of colonialisms and imperialism.

Australia on the other hand supported the British and Malaysia.

Soekarno claimed, British occupancy in Malaysia would threat the

sovereignty of Indonesia and he declared war against Malaysia in 1963. The

following year, Indonesia began its attack against Malaysia. These incidents

worsen the relation between Indonesia and Australia.

During Soeharto era, Indonesia- Australia relation was heavily improved,

especially during Paul Keating administration. Bilveer Singh, in his book,

Defense Relations Between Australia and Indonesia in the Post-Cold War Era,

quoted the Australian Prime Minister, who said,

"No country is more important to Australia than Indonesia. If we fail to

get this relationship right, and nurture and develop it, the whole web of our

foreign relations is incomplete [and] ... "Why can't we be friends? Why can't

we be friends? Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends?" [this is]

the exact sort of opinions we need".

5
 A few years later, another tension between the two nations broke as

Australia supported East Timor, which was claimed as one of the province in

Indonesia, to have its own referendum. Australia even sent its troops under

Australian Defence Force as part of the UN INTERFET (International Force

for East Timor), who arrived in East Timor in 1999 to put an end to the rioting,

which suspected caused by the Indonesian Army.

As year goes by, the tension is cooling down. There were also a few

other incident that caused the tension to rise again between these two

neighboring countries, like the phone taping incident and the execution of the

Bali 9 drug smugglers members. However they were over in just a matter of

months.

Today, the Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)

mentioned its website that Indonesia is one of Australia’s most important

bilateral relationships. Being as one of Australia’s closest neighbor,

Indonesia’s location, geography and demography give an important

geopolitical and strategic role in the region for Australia. Sustainable and

6
inclusive economic growth in Indonesia will benefit Australia and contributes

to regional growth and stability.

In a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Prime

Minister John Howard stated that Indonesia is a significant and important

partner in addressing the security threats of our region, including terrorism

and people smuggling (http://www.abc.net.au).

Recently, during APEC Economic Leaders Week held in Da Nang,

Vietnam, Indonesia’s Cabinet Secretary, Pramono Anung told the media, "At

every leader's summit, Prime Minister Turnbull has always asked for a

bilateral meeting with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), which shows the

close relationship between the two."

The media reported that the two leaders discussed various issues,

including the situation in Rakhine state in Myanmar and the completion of the

Indonesia-Australia comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA).

Furthermore, Indonesia is a key alliance in South East Asia that

Australia cannot afford to ignore. Tim Harcourt - the economics fellow at the

Australian School of Business said, "They (Indonesia) need us for food and
7
energy security and we need them to the extent we need all our trading

partners in ASEAN to make it all work. If we lost Indonesia we would lose

ASEAN, we have to be part of that family." (http://www.news.com.au/)

Australia and Indonesia, the two neighboring countries were written in

history to have a close relation since hundreds of years ago. There are a few

tensions that caused the nations to suspect one another; however their need for

each other always brought them back together. Indonesia owed so much to

Australia and Australia need Indonesia very much.

8
References:

1. Sah-Hadiyatan Ismail (2010), “Abstract” Australia and the

Indonesian Independence, Canadian Center of Science and

Education p. 151.

2. Bilveer Singh (2002), Defense Relations Between Australia and

Indonesia in the Post-Cold War Era p 89.

3. Chapter 1: Key Events in Australian-Indonesian Relations

(http://guides.naa.gov.au/near-neighbours/chapter1/index.aspx)

National Archive Australia

4. Dutch East Indies campaign

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_Indies_campaign)

Wikipedia

5. Australia–Indonesia relations

9
 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia%E2%80%93Indonesia_rel

ations)

Wikipedia

6. Renville Agreement

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renville_Agreement)

Wikipedia

7. Indonesia and the United Nations

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia_and_the_United_Nations)

Wikipedia

8. Australia–East Timor relations

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia%E2%80%93East_Timor_r

elations)

Wikipedia

9. Warisan Orang-orang Makassar bagi Suku Aborigin di Australia,

dari "Rupiya" hingga "Prau"

http://internasional.kompas.com/read/2016/07/25/16391101/warisa

n.orang-
10
 orang.makassar.bagi.suku.aborigin.di.australia.dari.rupiya.hingga.p

rau.

Kompas.com

10. Australian Waterfront Workers Support Indonesian Independence

Against The Dutch

(http://www.abc.net.au/archives/80days/stories/2012/01/19/341477

1.htm)

Abc.net.au

11. Why Australia shouldn't mess with Indonesia

(http://www.news.com.au/finance/markets/why-australia-shouldnt-

mess-with-indonesia/news-

story/ddcb1db9606247ca433397b17b0d7370)

News.com.au

12. Jokowi-Turnbull discuss Rakhine, CEPA

(http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/11/12/jokowi-turnbull-

discuss-rakhine-cepa.html)

Thejakartapost.com

11
12