Jakarta Holds Off On Military Co-operation and Withdraws Ambassador Following Revelations Australia Spied on President

Jasper Lindell,

Correspondent (Oceania)

 

CANBERRA — Jakarta has recalled its Australian ambassador and halted military co-operation with Australia following the publication of a leaked document showing that the country tapped the mobile phones of the Indonesian president and his inner circle.

The document, obtained by a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, was published on Monday by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Guardian Australia. The slide presentation, dated November 2009, details the surveillance of the Indonesian president, Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife, the Indonesian vice-president, senior ministers and confidants.

Protests that have seen the Australian flag burnt in Jakarta broke out on Thursday, as the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, promised to do ‘everything I reasonably can’ to close the rift that has emerged between the two countries. However, Indonesian foreign affairs experts warned that Abbott will need to outline the nature of future Australian surveillance activities before the friendship can be restored between the two countries.

Late on Monday, Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa recalled the Indonesian ambassador to Australia, Riphat Kesoema. The last time this occurred was in 2006.

On Tuesday, Abbott told federal parliament that, ‘Australia should not be expected to apologise for the steps we take to protect our country now or in the past, any more than other governments should be expected to apologise for the similar steps they have taken. We use all our resources, including information, to help our friends and allies, not to harm them.’ Spying also took place before Abbott was the prime minister.

Abbott’s comments to parliament came after Dr. Yudhoyono took to social media demanding an ‘official response’ from Australia to the allegations of phone tapping.

Also on Tuesday, the managing director of the ABC, Mark Scott, was questioned at a Senate Estimates Hearing over the joint publication of the document that details the Australian surveillance measures. He said the material ‘might be embarrassing’ and ‘may cause some difficulties’, but he believed it was in the national interest to publish it.

On Wednesday, Indonesia warned that remaining silent on the issue would threaten strategic relationships. Dr. Yudhoyono’s foreign affairs spokesman told the ABC and Guardian Australia that, ‘what [Indonesia is] requesting is very clear. The earlier the clarification we receive, that will clear the air. It’s not advisable to maintain the status quo of not confirming or denying if there is any tapping incident in the past.’ Dr. Yudhoyono is reportedly ‘devastated’ at the revelations.

Dr. Yudhoyono said that he found it ‘personally hard to comprehend’ why the phones were tapped. ‘We are not in the cold war era. Indonesia and Australia aren’t in the position of being against each other or fighting,’ he said. The phone tapping is, ‘in violation of international law and regulations, human rights and the right to privacy’, he continued. He added that he was, ‘expecting an official statement…from the Australian government’. In his speech, Dr. Yudhoyono also said that Indonesia was now holding off sharing information and intelligence, joint military training and ‘co-ordinated military operations targeting people smuggling’. ’We can’t possibly continue with [co-ordinated military operations targeting people smuggling] when we’re not sure that there isn’t tapping on Indonesia’s national forces,’ the president said.

Australia has had difficult finding solutions with Indonesia to deal with smugglers in recent years. Abbott’s chief slogan in the most recent federal election campaign was ‘stop the boats’. However, Indonesia’s withdrawal from joint military operations could affect Abbot’s aim. Dr. Yudhoyono has called for a binding code of conduct between Indonesia and Australia about future military co-operation, intelligence and intelligence sharing, and people smuggling issues.

Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons (Eric Draper, Troy)