Australia & Indonesia : A strange bedfellow (1966-present)

In the eerie dawn of October 1st, 1965, Jakarta resident awoke to a series of gunshots echoes. Several platoons worth of soldiers were seen milling about at various locations throughout the city. As hours progressed, radio airwave were pumped full of announcements : that there has been a coup d e tat attempt on the president, that now the daily function of government are in control of revolutionary council, that several army general has been caught trying to topple the government, and so on.

Whatever happened, the outcome was clear, six army general were assassinated, and the government was left floundering. It would be a portent of things to come. A time of abrupt political shift, and cataclysmic upheaval.

From this mammoth political wrestling and back stabbing, emerges a new leader, a quiet and soft spoken general. The first words from president Johnson were "who the hell is this guy?" , which quite portray the flabbergasted nature of state department, delighted as they were in discovering a new ally in the fight against communism.

As Indonesia political pendulum swung irrevocably into right, the Australian government loses no time in forging closer ties with Indonesia. Even before general Soeharto has definitively became president, the foreign minister of Australia has already met him thrice. High up on the list would be the de-escalation of conflict in Serawak and Kuching state of Malaysia federation, in which commonwealth troops were skirmishing with Indonesian backed-TNKU. This entreaty bore fruit in the first ever state visit of President Soeharto in 1972 to Australia. Finally, after two decades of firebrand anti-capitalism and anti-colonialism (which Australia, as part of the commonwealth were subjected to) a sort of stability reigned in Indonesia, more importantly, a friendly one.

But tranquility seems to be the exception, rather than the rule.  A new trouble was brewing. In the backwater Portuguese colony of Timor the ember of independence has lighted up. Long neglected, the government of Portugal can no longer afford to maintain various colonial holding. Therefore, they encourage political rise of various faction in Timor. The most powerful were Fretilin, in which, unfortunately, have a leftist leaning.  Although small in size, Timor did share a land border with the neighboring Nusa Tenggara Timur province. In the age of domino theory, the communist threat looms large over Jakarta.

The same sinking feeling must also permeated Canberra, more so when Fretilin pushed UDT and Trabalista faction out to Indonesia. Suddenly, a soviet base 365 miles from Darwin was a distinct probability. This drives Canberra into nudging Jakarta to stick its finger deeper into Timor question. Not needing the extra encouragement, Jakarta already sent several Special Forces teams in long range penetration. And a defense official has already shuttling back and forth drumming up support or forging closer ties with Indonesia. With Fretilin firmly in control of the nation, and their Portuguese overlord looked the other way around. Indonesian SF quickly recruits hundreds of political refugee in NTT, and led by SpecOps officer, started to harass Fretilin held towns. In these bush-wars, the balibo five incident happened. As the Indonesian-led Timor militia overwhelmed Fretilin defense in balibo (through sheer number, not quality), while flushing Fretilin defenders by means of hand grenade, Five Australian journalist were killed. These five journalists were allegedly tried to gain hard evidence of Indonesian SpecOps involvement in East Timor. They did, at the ultimate cost of their lives.

Cornered, Fretilin declared independence of the socialist timor republic. The line in the sand has been crossed; Jakarta now envisaged a full scale invasion (integration is the official wording in the press). With President Ford's agreement (and assurances that the H-hour would be delayed until after the Air force one has left Jakarta), Jakarta launches three pronged assault. Although in general a qualified success, in terms of operational smoothness, it was a mess.

Australia lost no times in acknowledging Jakarta's hold in 1978, Australia became the first (and only) nation to give de facto and de jure acknowledgment. Since then, Indonesia-Australia relations were as good as ever. A further agreement over the resources rich Timor Gap catapulted the relation into a honeymoon period. A stable and sedate government means growing economy, and trade between two nations rocketed 19 % annually.

As Indonesia's economy boomed in early 1990's, beef and flour consumption quadrupled, and with western hemisphere struggling with "mad cow" disease, cattle and wheat were almost exclusively sourced from Australia. Dairy products and other various quality produce were also imported from Australia, replacing far-off European producer.

Nonetheless, contacts were limited to high-level dignitaries and direct cultural contacts were limited to those working in tourism sector. As one Australian Prime minister stressed "......Why can't we be friends, why can't we be friends, why can't we be friends?". Although geographically closer to Asia, Australia seems too stuck with its European roots. And Indonesia, is only seen as one neighboring country, a solid and stable ones, friendly, albeit an authoritarian ones and a good trading partner. No more. How wrong the analyst had thought in 1995.

In 1998, all hell, again, broke loose in Indonesia. An economic crisis hit hard, leaving Indonesia reeling. And the once powerful, 32-year long regime come tumbling down. Australia trying to alleviate the suffering, donated several million dollars in poverty aid. But throughout the nation, a new, more sinister force comes into play.

While political turmoil resulted in worsening economic downturn, age-old rivalries between races, tribes and religion has resurfaced. Aceh, Banjar, Banyuwangi, Makassar, Manado, Poso, Maluku and even Jakarta were all in state of disorder. While tribe and races infighting was quickly quelled by deploying reinforcement from Java-based garrison. The ones that fuelled by religious fervor is not easily quenched. While shabbily educated pious Muslims were marching en masse to Poso and Ambon in their jihad, these recruits were easily turned back by the authorities. But a new generation of college and university educated individuals that failed to get employment during the crisis, found a higher calling, the call of jihad. These generations would culminate in a string of bombing that awaken Australia. And finally led Australia to realize that she was sleeping next to Indonesia all along.

In the vibrant nightlife of Bali, two loud explosions were heard. A dastardly terrorist attack, directed toward unsuspecting tourists, claimed over 100 lives. 88 of them were Australian. While an ongoing crackdown was conducted, another bombing spree in Jakarta highlighted the vulnerability of a nation that still recovering from economic bout. Finally, as if to rub salt into open wound, the bastion and symbol of the Australian nation, the embassy itself, were also bombed, causing multiple fatalities and wounding over 100 people.

While the cause is still debatable, it is clear that a new threat has reemerged. Indonesia has had its fair share of radical groups, from its infancy. But this current threat shows that a new generation is in the making, and old methods were forsaken. The result is that Australia essentially funded a new contra-terrorism unit in the police. Ratcheted up various aids and ultimately, making Indonesia the largest receptor of Australian aid.