RI, Australia delve into DCA details

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 07/07/2007 10:59 AM

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian and Australian defense ministries have agreed to discuss in detail the defense cooperation agreement signed by the foreign ministers of both countries in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, last year.

The commitment was made during a meeting between Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono and his visiting Australian counterpart Brendan Nelson at the Defense Ministry in Jakarta on Friday.

""We hope that there will soon be a legal umbrella for security and defense cooperation between our two countries,"" Juwono told reporters after the meeting.

He said that he and Dr. Nelson had discussed ways to improve security measures for the territorial waters of Indonesia and Australia.

Australia, Juwono added, has assisted Indonesia by providing spare parts for Indonesia's Hercules aircraft, a move that proved highly helpful in improving emergency anticipation capabilities in the country.

""On the Lombok Treaty, the (Indonesian) Foreign Minister will spearhead the action to deliberate it. I think he will soon make a move to have the agreement ratified by the House of Representatives,"" Juwono said.

The foreign ministers from both countries, Hassan Wirayuda and Alexander Downer, signed the treaty last year on the West Nusa Tenggara island. Under the agreement both countries pledged to develop wide-ranging defense cooperation.

The treaty stipulates that neither country can support a third party who threatens the other nation's dominion or territorial integrity.

Minister Nelson said that under the agreement, both nations would cooperate in intelligence sharing, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations as well as in counter-terrorism and maritime security activities.

""About the substance of the Lombok Treaty, Indonesia and Australia are both democracies ... we will respect the parliamentary privileges within the two countries and the processes within them,"" said Nelson, who is a member of Australia's ruling Liberal Party.

The Australian government has already established a standing committee to ratify the treaty. Dr. Nelson said Canberra would leave the matter with the Indonesian people and lawmakers to deliberate the agreement on their side.

Discussing larger international security issues, Nelson defended Australia's presence in Iraq, insisting it is in no way connected to the Middle Eastern country's oil.

""Australia is supporting its key allies, such as the U.S. and the U.K. among others, in creating stability in the region and stopping al-Qaeda from taking root,"" he said.

Nelson, a former education minister, also plans to meet with lawmakers from the House's defense and security commission and to deliver a lecture at the National Resilience Institute.

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