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Abbott respects RI sovereignty
Australian PM: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott takes questions during a joint press conference with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after a meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday
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span class="inline inline-center">Australian PM: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott takes questions during a joint press conference with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after a meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday.
In a move to ease tensions between Indonesia and Australia, visiting Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said that he will respect Indonesian sovereignty in his government's efforts to find solutions to the problem of people smuggling.
'I do want to stress publicly, as well as privately Bapak President: Australia's total respect for Indonesia's sovereignty, total respect for Indonesia's territorial integrity,' he said during a joint press conference with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday.
Abbott said that the people-smuggling issue was a serious problem for Australia and that he lauded the Indonesian government's efforts to help tackle the problem.
'People smuggling is an issue of sovereignty, especially for Australia. I appreciate how seriously Indonesia has taken this issue in the past and I look forward to working even more cooperatively with Indonesia on this issue in the future,' he said.
Abbott was on his maiden trip as prime minister to Jakarta, his first foray abroad after taking office on Sept. 18. Abbott is accompanied on the two-day trip by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Trade Minister Andrew Robb and 20 senior businesspeople.
The visit comes three days after a boat packed with migrants sank in Indonesian waters, leaving at least 36 dead and dozens more missing.
In the meeting, the two sides also agreed to hold further meetings at a ministerial level.
'Indonesia and Australia are countries that are the victims of this people-smuggling issue,' Yudhoyono said at the Merdeka Palace.
'The solution to the problem is to have effective and good bilateral cooperation in line with the Bali Process,' he said, referring to an international framework agreement aimed at addressing people smuggling and human trafficking which was initiated in Bali in 2002.
Details of the cooperation, will be further discussed in a technical meeting between Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto and Australian Immigration and Border Protection Minister Scott Morrison.
Indonesia has expressed concern over Abbott's 'tow-back' plan, which involves the Australian navy intercepting and forcing back to Indonesia boats crowded with migrants. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has warned that the move could breach the country's sovereignty.
Undocumented migrants arriving by boat after passing through Indonesian transit points are a hot political issue in Australia.
During his election campaign, Abbott revealed his plan for more regional action to prevent people smuggling, pledging A$420 million (US$392 million) for policy measures that included buying up Indonesian boats and paying Indonesian villagers to gather intelligence for Australia on the movements of migrant boats.
Marty declined to confirm whether Indonesia expressed its opposition to the 'tow-back' plan or if Yudhoyono conveyed the Indonesian position on the issue.
'A common challenge requires a common response. Whatever steps that will be taken, they will be done within the terms of and in synergy with the Bali process,' he said. 'But running through all these, I think [are] constant reminders, constant assurances, including from the Australian side, that they will fully respect Indonesia's sovereignty.'
According to data from Australia's Department of Immigration, as cited by the BBC, the number of irregular maritime arrivals in that country has been on the rise.
Last year, there were 278 boats carrying 17,202 passengers to the country, a sharp increase from 134 boats carrying 6,535 passengers in 2010. Meanwhile, as of July 16 this year, 218 boats had brought 15,182 arrivals, 88 percent of the total number of irregular arrivals last year.
In the bilateral talks, Abbott also stressed the importance of boosting economic ties between the neighboring countries from the current A$14.6 billion per year. He said a new Australia-Indonesia study center would be created at Monash University.
Australia is the ninth biggest foreign investor in Indonesia.
