Jakarta puts on the charm offensive for Albanese

All indications are that Anthony Albanese enjoys a good personal rapport with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, which bodes well for the relationship and for the fortunes of both countries.

President Prabowo made public a video of his telephone conversation to congratulate Mr Albanese on his election win, and took the unusual step of dropping in to the Prime Minister’s hotel for an unscheduled catch-up ahead of official talks in Jakarta on Thursday.

Given the turbulent global times, it would be wrong to take it for granted that Australia and Indonesia will always have identical interests, which is why personal relations count. Indonesia has every reason to cultivate Australia as part of its big ambitions to grow its economy and global standing.

Mr Albanese delivered on Thursday with Australia’s support for Indonesia’s bid to join the OECD and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Australia has both an economic and strategic interest in Jakarta realising its social and economic ambitions in the hope that this will enable it to take a guiding role in regional affairs.

As Southeast Asia correspondent Amanda Hodge has written, with the US in isolation mode, and Russia and China both vying for more influence in Jakarta, adding economic depth to Australia’s relationship with Indonesia has never been more important. This is particularly so given Indonesia’s ambition to become the world’s fifth-biggest economy by 2040.

The Indonesian economy is growing at about 5 per cent a year, with ambitions to grow this to 8 per cent. Bilateral trade and investment therefore present a big opportunity for both countries. Former Macquarie Group chairman Nicholas Moore, the commonwealth government’s special envoy for Southeast Asia, has rightly said that Australia’s prosperity and security are intimately linked to the prosperity and security of its neighbours, and their security and prosperity are similarly linked to ours.

Trade and political connections are the key features of Mr Albanese’s current visit. But there are also other issues that can’t be ignored. High on the list is how best to further our strategic defence co-operation, given Indonesia’s growing relationships with China and Russia.

Foreign editor Greg Sheridan observes that the Australia-Indonesia relationship is nowhere near as good as we think it is. He says Indonesia has joined the China-led BRICS group, which seeks to act as a counterbalance to the US in global economic and political affairs, and is having a very intimate strategic relationship with Russia and increasingly with China.

The longstanding ambitions of Moscow to have permanent access to an Indonesian military base have been an issue of domestic political concern for Australia. The issue dogged Mr Albanese through the federal election campaign and has followed him to Jakarta.

Mr Albanese is being purposefully vague about what he knew and when about a Russian request made public in influential defence publication Jane’s. “Indonesia’s answer is no,” Mr Albanese told reporters on the ground in Jakarta. “They have made that very clear.”

This is to be expected given Indonesia’s status as one of the founding members of the non-aligned movement. This movement was established during the Cold War to safeguard sovereignty and independence from the influence of the US and the Soviet Union. But the world has become more complex since then, and it is in Australia’s best interest to continue building on the close defence relationships the two countries have been able to establish.

It is notable that Defence Minister Richard Marles was not a participant in the Prime Minister’s visit. Mr Albanese has shown good sense in making Indonesia a priority but he must also have the courage to speak up about the security issues that matter for both countries and make our shared prosperity possible.