No hard feelings over Albo no-show as Indonesia-Australia pledge deeper ties

Indonesia’s new President has told Anthony Albanese he is trying ‘de-escalate’ regional tensions with China in their first meeting since his swearing-in last month. 

Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the APEC summit in Peru on Friday. Picture: X

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has told Anthony Albanese he is trying “de-escalate” ­regional tensions with China and “lower the temperature”, in their first meeting since the Prime Minister was a no-show at his inauguration last month.

The two leaders also committed to enhancing economic and military ties, including in the fields of agriculture and people-smuggling prevention, with Mr Prabowo describing Australia as a “very good friend of Indonesia” despite some “ups and downs”.

“We want to deepen co-operation in many areas, including Australia’s involvement in Indonesia’s economy,” he said, reiterating a message he brought during his August visit to Canberra.

The “relaxed” and cordial breakfast meeting between the two leaders, on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru, comes after Mr Prabowo held weekend talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and signed a joint statement also committing his country to deeper economic and security co-operation with China.

Late last month the Indonesian navy and coastguard were forced to chase a Chinese coastguard ship at least three times out of its north Natuna waters on the edge of the South China Sea where it was harassing a state-owned Pertamina oil and gas survey ship.

Mr Albanese had to skip the ­Indonesian leader’s October 20 swearing-in ceremony because it clashed with King Charles’ scheduled visit to Australia, and instead sent his deputy and Defence Minister, Richard Marles, with whom Prabowo had just months earlier concluded an upgraded bilateral Defence Co-operation Agreement as the then defence minister.

While much was made in Australia of Mr Albanese’s absence, and the fact he was the first prime minister in decades not to attend an Indonesian president’s inauguration, Mr Prabowo said he was grateful his “good friend” Mr Marles had been able to attend and was “happy with the state of our security co-operation – police to police and military to military”.

“We have very common problems and the context is very serious, with narcotics, with people-smuggling,” he said, adding he was working to improve Jakarta’s ­relationships with all its neighbours, including Malaysia, The Philippines, and Vietnam.

“And some sort of management with the Chinese to de-­escalate and lower the temperature.”

Indonesia and Australia are holding their biggest, most complex combined military exercises, dubbed Keris Woomera, in east Java this week.

The exercises and defence agreement upgrade come at a critical time, given heightening tensions in the South China Sea over China’s discredited claims over much of the strategic waters, through which $3.4 trillion in ship-borne trade passes, and concerns that the second Trump administration will shift US-China rivalry into high gear.

Mr Albanese said the Keris Woomera exercises, which on Wednesday saw the two defence forces stage an amphibious landing, demonstrated “once again the importance of that security relationship that was finalised between the Defence Minister and yourself just prior to your inauguration”.

“And of course, our economic relationship is so important as well. I want to see more and more co-operation between our two great nations,” Mr Albanese said.

The Indonesian president flew into the Peruvian capital Lima from Washington where he met US President Joe Biden, and also posted a video of a phone call with President-elect Donald Trump.

An Indonesian government readout of the meeting, said Mr Albanese “praised President Prabowo’s recent geopolitical initiatives, including his visits to China and the United States … and expressed hope for closer Indonesia-Australia ties, especially in agriculture, education, and health”.