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Abbott to skip OGP forum in Bali, meeting with Yudhoyono
Tony Abbott: (AP)Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced he would not attend a regional forum in Bali next week amid speculation that his visit would thaw bilateral tensions in the wake of the spying row
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Tony Abbott: (AP) (AP)
Tony Abbott: (AP)
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced he would not attend a regional forum in Bali next week amid speculation that his visit would thaw bilateral tensions in the wake of the spying row.
An Indonesian official claimed earlier that Abbott had confirmed his attendance at the upcoming Open Government Partnership (OGP) Asia-Pacific Regional Conference in Bali on May 6 and 7 in Nusa Dua, where he would also hold a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The meeting would have been the first time the two leaders were at the same forum after the spying scandal in November last year.
Jakarta halted military and intelligence cooperation with Canberra following allegations of wiretapping on Yudhoyono and his inner circle, as well as Australia's 'turn back the boats' policy on undocumented migrants. Yudhoyono has demanded the two countries jointly draft a code of conduct (CoC), but little progress appears to have been made.
'The prime minister was hoping to attend the OGP conference in Bali next week, at the invitation of His Excellency President Yudhoyono,' a spokesman from Abbott's office said in a message received by The Jakarta Post Friday.
'The prime minister is grateful for the invitation. Unfortunately, [he] is unable to attend at this time and he hopes to visit Indonesia to meet with the President at a mutually convenient time.'
Head of the Presidential Working Unit for the Supervision and Management of Development (UKP4), Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, whose unit was responsible for organizing the conference, had previously confirmed Abbott's attendance at the regional forum.
The conference, which will be attended by representatives from 54 countries, will include a keynote address from Yudhoyono and remarks from high-level speakers from participating and non-participating OGP countries in Asia Pacific.
The OGP for which Indonesia holds the rotating chairmanship for 2013 and 2014, is a multilateral initiative promoting governmental transparency and encouraging citizen participation in tackling corruption.
Presidential spokesman for foreign affairs Teuku Faizasyah said Abbott had not canceled the visit as the State Palace had never received formal notification of Abbott's attendance. 'It was just an informal gesture,' he said.
Australia was invited to join the OGP in September 2011, but took until May 2013 to respond, with an announcement of its intention to join in April 2014.
Teuku said the future of the bilateral ties between Jakarta and Canberra did not rest on Yudhoyono and Abbott attending the same forum.
'It is on a different track. The forum is a regional forum [with] other Asia-Pacific heads of states and governments, as well as Abbott. While in terms of the issue [of strained ties] I believe it is currently being handled bilaterally,' Teuku told the Post.
Several Australian media outlets reported that Abbott's trip has been canceled because of a current asylum seeker operation. Some of the media said, citing the West Australian newspaper, a Border Protection Command boat had spotted and was planning to intercept a boat in waters between Java and the Ashmore Reef.
However, Agus Barnas, spokesman at the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister, told the Post that his office 'had yet to receive any information regarding the latest incursion' and, therefore, he refused to comment.
