One of the countries closest to mainland Australia is Indonesia. The relationship between these two countries has a long history. Foreign relations between Indonesia and Australia often experience ups and downs. There was a time when the two countries had an intimate relationship at the formal level of government. But at other times, the relationship between Australia and Indonesia is also in a tense position, and they blame each other. Indonesia and Australia have established a relationship that can be said to be quite close since the beginning of Indonesian independence, namely in 1945. At that time, Indonesia became one of the countries that supported Indonesia's independence by sending a diplomatic mission to meet President Soekarno when he declared Indonesia's independence. Australia and Indonesia also cooperate in various fields such as maritime, security, defense, terrorism, and education. Australia is also one of the countries that quickly provided assistance to Indonesia when Indonesia was hit by a disaster. It can be said that diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Australia depend on the political dynamics of both. There is an assumption that Australia wants Indonesia to become a stable and prosperous country, but Australia also does not want Indonesia to become a dominant country in the Southeast Asian region. The tension between the two countries in 2013 provides evidence for this assumption. In this article, we will discuss Australia's espionage activities against Indonesia. Diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Australia reportedly strained in November 2013 when news of Australia wiretapping several Indonesian and other state officials shocked Indonesia and the international community. Edward Snowden, a former contractor of the United States National Defense Agency, brought to light this event, initially reported by The Guardian and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). According to the allegations of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), this wiretapping has been going on since 2007--2009. The Australian Intelligence Agency carried out the wiretapping of some of the country's top officials. According to news from British and Australian media, the wiretapping was allegedly carried out for 15 days in 2009.
Australia wiretapped the then Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and several other Indonesian state officials via mobile phones while attending the G-20 summit in London. Not only Indonesian state officials were victims of this wiretapping, but several other high-ranking countries, such as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao, were also victims of this wiretapping. The Australian Intelligence Agency conducts wiretapping by making stealthy calls to the victim's cell phone, namely several high-ranking state officials. After the call is connected to the victim's cell phone, the cellphone will be automatically tapped and can retrieve all the data it wants to retrieve without having to go through the cellphone owner's permission. Australia also intercepted conversations between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other officials. That way, Australia can easily obtain confidential information from countries that are targeted. Australia's actions have violated the country's privacy and created a sense of distrust between countries, especially Indonesia, towards Australia. The practice of wiretapping by the Australian intelligence agency has had a significant impact on bilateral relations between Australia and Indonesia. Not only with Indonesia, Australia's bilateral relations with other countries could also be disrupted. Other countries will also distrust Australia and hamper the cooperation that has been built before.
The purpose of Australia's wiretapping was to spy on the conversations of Indonesian officials and obtain information for Australia's political interests, which at that time were approaching the moment of the UN Security Council election. Australia was so ambitious to win a seat on the UN Security Council that it chose to cheat by illegally digging up confidential information on rival countries. From the wiretapping action, Australia was able to find out some important information that was highly confidential to Indonesia. Australia was able to find out about Indonesia's defense plans, which could cause losses for Indonesia. This clearly violates privacy and threatens state security. Australia's act of wiretapping Indonesia could threaten human rights as well as international norms on privacy. It could also damage Australia's global reputation.
After the heat of the news that Australia was wiretapping Indonesia, the Indonesian government and the Indonesian people, who were furious with Australia, demanded an official statement from the Australian government. Subsequently, the Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, issued an official statement through a press conference. However, in his statement, Tony Abbott did not answer questions from the Indonesian government, nor did he apologize for the wiretapping. According to Tony Abbott, Australia does not need to apologize for this incident because wiretapping is a natural thing that happens in the international world for the sake of Australia's own national interests. Hearing statements from Australia that did not answer questions, did not feel guilty about this incident, and seemed arrogant, the Indonesian government and the Indonesian people were dissatisfied with the statement and became increasingly furious with Australia's behavior. The Indonesian government finally took decisive steps by temporarily suspending some of the cooperation that had been carried out with Australia, withdrawing the Indonesian ambassador in Australia, and sending an official letter over this incident. The Indonesian government took this step to protect the privacy and sovereignty of the country. The Indonesian people also protested by holding demonstrations in front of the Australian Embassy in Indonesia.
After the issuance of three policies by the Indonesian government, the two countries finally negotiated and produced a Protocol of Conduct by going through six roadmap processes. The signing of this protocol and code of conduct is expected to improve diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Australia and restore Indonesia's trust in Australia. The reopening of the Indonesian embassy in Australia clearly marked this case. The return of Indonesia's trust in Australia resulted in several new collaborations in various fields, for example in the fields of security, terrorism, and education. This incident made both countries aware of the existence of trust building between countries to improve relations that had been tense and realize the national welfare of each country.
Perkenalkan, nama saya Diandra Putri Sophianandita dari Prodi Ilmu Hubungan Internasional di Universitas Teknologi Yogyakarta Akreditas "B" angkatan 2022. Alasan saya melanjutkan pendidikan di Ilmu Hubungan Internasional karena Ilmu Hubungan Internasional memiliki peluang karir yang cukup luas contohnya di berbagai organisasi internasional, sektor swasta, lembaga pemerintah, media internasional, organisasi non-pemerintah (NGO) dan masih banyak lagi. Ilmu Hubungan Internasional juga memberi pengalaman multikultural dan menambah pengetahuan saya tentang apa yang sedang atau pernah terjadi di dunia internasional. Dosen favorit saya di Prodi Ilmu Hubungan Internasional Universitas Teknologi Yogyakarta adalah Ibu Lucitania Rizky, S.IP., M.A. dan Bapak Adi Wibawa, S.IP., M.A.. Saya berencana mengambil konsentrasi bisnis agar dapat lebih mendalami dinamika ekonomi, manajemen, dan aspek bisnis internasional lainnya. Konsentrasi bisnis juga membuka peluang karir yang beragam seperti di perusahaan multinasional, konsultan bisnis internasional, lembaga keuangan internasional, dan masih banyak lagi.
