Australia and Indonesia. Two very different neighbours? (part 3)

First of all, Indonesia has come a long way. Just a few years ago (until 1998), it was trundling along under the heavy hand of Soeharto. Dictatorships don't just neglect people’s basic rights, but they also establish a tightly knit elite, which in turn entrench a culture of cronyism and nepotism, corruption and then eventually social unrest.
Besides the numerous internal problems, dictatorships tend to also give the country a very bad reputation. It will be perceived as backward, perhaps violent and dangerous.

Indonesia used to be seen as exactly this. It was seen as a dangerous country, on the verge of disintegrating. Indonesia made itself no favour by violently acting against separatism, especially in Timor.
This is the political side, but perhaps far more important is the personal side. Indonesia is still seen as a somewhat savage place, where Australians sometimes get mugged, catch diseases and even get killed.
But the strongest images, which are engrained in almost all Australian people’s minds are firstly, images of fellow country people locked up and eventually killed for the use of minor drugs and secondly, boats full of poor refugees being intercepted at sea or even arriving on Australian shores from Indonesia.

The issue of the boat people is dominating in Australia’s relations with Indonesia, and that by itself is an absolutely overblown issue, which is also hardly discussed on the Indonesian side. Interestingly, most of the boat people are in fact legitimate refugees, mostly from Sri Lanka, which eventually get residence in Australia. This is exactly what a country like Australia should do. We are a rich and open country and we should be welcoming to refugees, whose homes have been destroyed.

Indonesia has recently caught a lot of spotlight as the star of Southeast Asia in terms of democratic reform and economic growth. The country is now a vibrant democracy with a burgeoning civil society. Even though still poor, many people are lifted from poverty and become part of a growing middle class.

Because Australia has been busy with China, America (as always), Japan and itself, only few people have noticed the successes in Indonesia. Typically, Australia is trading far more with New Zealand, a country of 4 million with a far smaller economy than Indonesia, than with the 220 million archipelago to the north.

This doesn't just tell us an economic story, it also tells us a story of identity. The reason is relatively simple. Australia feels much more at ease dealing, trading and working together with New Zealanders. Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders have moved to Australia and vice versa too. They speak the same language (nearly) and have a similar past – and also present.
Indonesians on the other hand are perceived as very different. I am actually not even sure if the people as such have a bad reputation, I moreover think they have NO reputation. The knowledge and interest of Australia in Indonesia is very limited. The official Australia, even though always ready to emphasise its importance, sees Indonesia through a lense of problems: people smuggling, terrorism, religious extremism, thereby hugely patronizing its neighbour.

Indonesia in the meantime now wants to be recognized as an equal partner, and recently, the Australia media have taken up this point, with some even arguing that Australia may even become the weaker link.

Lets see if Australia can start to tackle the ghosts of the past and get used to its new role, not as THE leader of the region but as one of two leaders.

Australia and Indonesia. Two very different neighbours? (part 2)

Australia, having a much larger landmass than Indonesia, actually is home to much fewer people. Roughly 22 million live in Australia, compared with an enormous sum of over 230 million in Indonesia.

Australia’s history is clearly defined by its primarily British heritage and colonization. For decades, it was basically a piece of Britain somewhere in the South Pacific. Its identity is shaped by the notion of “distance”. Distance from its “motherland” but also distance between places within the country. People who moved to Australia (including some of my ancestors) were pioneers, people who were seeking for a refuge, far away from their home, but still among people who look, speak and are alike.

In a way, they lived far, far away from the worries of the world, and Australia was the richest country of the world for some time. Then came the wars. On the one hand, Australia asserted its own identity, detached from the motherland. On the other hand though, the wars firmly put Australia’s alignment where it is now: very closely attached to America.

The wars and the ensuing decades didn't just entrench Australia’s alignment with America and still to a certain degree with Europe (and later during the Cold War also with Japan) but also arose fears of invasion from the north.
My grandma, when she was a young girl in Perth still remembers the sirens going off in anticipation of Japanese air attacks in World War 2. People were scared of the masses of Asians to the north. First they were scared of the Japanese, who colonized nearly all of Asia during WWII, but then later also China and Korea during the recent immigration waves, and of course also the giant and wobbly neighbour, Indonesia.

So, a certain fear of Asians is somewhat engrained in parts of Australia’s identity. Unforgotten is also the success of Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party, which campaigned under a single issue, immigration from Asia. She gave this fear a legitimate and political makeover, and was quite successful for a while with this strategy.

Unlike fears of Japan or China however, Australia’s fears of Indonesia don't necessarily stem from the fear of an aggressive push by a great amount of people to conquer Australia, but rather from the fear of disintegration and “Balkanisation” of Indonesia.
Such disintegration would ensue in chaos, insecurity would reign over the Archipelago and supposedly, millions of Indonesians would seek refuge in Australia. This is the ultimate fear and a definite the worst-case scenario for Australia.

These days, a push by the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, to increase the population of Australia from 22 million to 35 million in a few decades is met with stern criticism.
Warning voices like to remind other Australians that the country is already now hardly coping with infrastructure (traffic, housing), water supply is critical and the arable land areas are shrinking.

Thus, these conservative and defensive voices try to remind Australians of their old Asian fears, being run over by these millions of “yellow people”, with their old (white) Australia in tatters.
In reality, conservative white supremacists have already lost. Australia’s engagement with its northern neighbours, although not in full bloom yet, is blossoming. Increasing amounts of Asians are studying in Australia, and subsequently make Australia their home.
A lot of what has previously been written on this blog is a testimony to the changed face of (primarily urban) Australia.

But whereas Australia’s relations with Japan, China, Korea and also Singapore have not only seen growth in trade and investment but also an explosion in people-to-people links, relations with Indonesia have somewhat stagnated.
Why is that? Why are the official Australia, the business community, and the people at large so enthusiastic about Australia’s relations with China, Japan and Korea but not necessarily with Indonesia?

Australia and Indonesia. Two very different neighbours? (part 1)

Here in Australia, there has been a lot of buzz recently on the Australian relationship with Indonesia. Especially after last week's official visit of the President of Indonesia to Canberra and Sydney, including 7 ministers and 4 provincial governors (!!!) and addressing a joint session of the Australian Parliament, the discussion of the bilateral relationship intensified.

In my opinion, nothing highlights the occasional awkwardness of Australia in dealing with its Asian geography and proximity better than its shaky and sometimes awkward relationship with Indonesia.

Perhaps it's good to have a look at a map of the region first.

Looking at the position of Australia, it's pretty clear which country should be the main partner of Australia. The Indonesian archipelago lies just a few hundred kilometres to the north of Australia and is by far the nearest landmass from an Australian perspective.

Both countries are immensely large and span several thousand kilometres. It takes about 5 hours to fly from Sydney to Perth (on Australia's west coast) and probably about the same time from Sumatra to Papua in Indonesia's East.

Interestingly, the two countries' economies are also roughly the same size (depending on the way they are measured) and both countries are members of the increasingly crucial G-20 group of nations.

The picture painted is clear. Two large countries with large economies. Two regional powers with clout.

That is however where the similarities end - and the frictions in the two countries' relations begin.