T

he government has requested cattle importers to temporarily halt bringing in livestock from Australia pending the completion of diplomatic moves to restore bilateral ties damaged by recent spying allegations.

Following reports of the surveillance, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono suspended cooperation on three fronts, namely military and defense; joint-patrols on people smuggling; and intelligence and information sharing with Australia.

Cooperation in other sectors, such as trade and agriculture, have apparently now also been affected.

Agriculture Minister Suswono said on Monday that the government had a clear stance on Jakarta-Canberra bilateral issues.

He said that the ball was now in Australia's court, which, he said, should prove its genuine commitment to rebuilding trust and confidence within Indonesia. 'However, when it comes to cattle and beef imports, the deals were made within a business-to-business framework. We can only appeal to importers to act in line with the government's stance, until everything is completely normalized,' Suswono said.

He called on business players in the sector to make the necessary adjustments in accordance with the progress of bilateral relations.

The minister also said that the government was ready to reduce the volume of imported cattle from Australia. 'If the President is not satisfied with Australia's response to the recent diplomatic tension, then we will review the policy,' the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician said.

Days after news reports about Canberra's tapping of the phones of Yudhoyono and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono broke, last week, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa indicated the cattle trade with Australia could also be affected, saying that Indonesia should begin to reduce its dependence on Australian cattle.

State-owned agribusiness PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia, meanwhile, said it had halted talks on a cattle ranch operation in Australia, saying that it had started talks with a New Zealand firm as an alternative.

Previously, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) said it hoped that the frayed Indonesia-Australia ties would not hurt the domestic economy.

Kadin chairman Suryo Bambang Sulisto said the government should not make any decisions pertaining to business affairs, which might disrupt long-established, mutually beneficial economic relations.

'The government needs to be careful about [making] any decisions that could affect the business sector; it needs to thoroughly assess the benefits and disadvantages. We do not want this issue to negatively affect investment flows or other business aspects,' Suryo said.

He added, however, that the government's plan to suspend bilateral talks on the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), which began last year, was acceptable as it was likely to have only a minor impact on businesses.

The move to halt CEPA negotiations was publicized on Wednesday, along with the official announcement that the government was suspending its cooperation with Australia on preventive measures to curb the number of boat people passing through Indonesia.

Indonesia and Australia recently completed the second round of talks on the CEPA, which aims to significantly boost bilateral trade.

The two countries traded a total of US$10.20 billion worth of commodities and products last year, of which Indonesia exported goods worth $4.91 billion and imported goods worth $5.3 billion.