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Indonesian foreign minister says return to normal relations will take time Indonesian foreign minister says relations with Australia at 'step one'
(about 1 hour later)
The Indonesian foreign minister, Dr Marty Natalegawa, has warned there is a long way to go before relations with Australia can return to normal in the wake of revelations of spying that targeted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his inner circle. The Indonesian foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, has signalled that the rebuilding of relations between Australia and Indonesia in the wake of the phone-tapping revelations is only at “step one” in a long process he hopes will result in the signing of a binding code of ethics between the two nations.
Speaking before a special hearing into the spying scandal, called as relations between Jakarta and Canberra remain at their lowest point in more than a decade, Natalegawa said he had already been in contact with the foreign minister, Julie Bishop, to discuss the next step. Speaking to reporters before a special parliamentary hearing in Jakarta over the phone-tapping revelations, Natalegawa confirmed he would contact the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, following the president’s call for a new deal between the two countries to be forged in six steps.
"We are now on step one which is essentially for myself to get in touch with my counterpart, to, as I have said before to my colleagues here, discuss all various issues relating to our bilateral relations as pre-conditions before discussing the code of conduct itself," he said on Thursday. "We are now at step one which is essentially for myself to get in touch with my counterpart to, as I've said to my colleagues before, discuss all various issues relating to our bilateral relations as preconditions before discussing the code of conduct itself,” he said.
Natalegawa said he would not put a time on restoring relations, but confirmed Indonesia's ambassador to Australia, Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, would remain in Jakarta indefinitely after being recalled two weeks ago while bilateral issues remained unresolved. Natalegawa acknowledged it would take a while for the ethics code to be forged.
"He is still here and I've told him to make himself comfortable in Jakarta and there's no need to rush to go back to Australia," Natalegawa said. "The code of conduct will be discussed after preconditions are met and will be examined by the president. Then it will be signed by the president and prime minister. A review is needed during implementation in the future.
Bishop said the federal government was positively approaching talks with Indonesia over a proposed code of ethics. “The sixth point [is that] a sense of trust must be reached before we resume the three co-operations which had been suspended."
She said she hoped the early discussions would be a first step towards normalising relations. Natalegawa is meeting with the foreign affairs commission, Commission One, in parliament today. A high-powered delegation also joined the foreign minister, including defence minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, chief of the national intelligence agency Marciano Norman, recalled Indonesian ambassador to Australia Najib Riphat Koesuma, national police chief general Sutarman, and head of the national encryption body major general Djoko Setiadi. The Indonesian state secretary and technology minister were also invited to attend but were unavailable, Guardian Australia understands.
"We're doing it in a spirit of co-operation, it's a very positive step forward," she said in Sydney on Thursday. Reporters were told they could not listen to the hearing as national security matters were being discussed. Committee One’s deputy chair Tubagus Hasanuddin said on Tuesday morning that he hoped Natalegawa would give more details of the letter sent to president Yudhoyono by Australian prime minister Tony Abbott, including whether Abbott had apologised.
Natalegawa said his preliminary discussions with Bishop must take place before the code of conduct could be drafted. Natalegawa also said that the South Korean ambassador, who had been called in by the president over allegations that Singaporean and South Korean agencies have aided the US and Australia in spying within the region, had told him that those reports were incorrect.
The draft code of conduct, which would include guarantees around spying, would be inspected by Yudhoyono before being signed by himself and the prime minister, Tony Abbott. “South Korea stressed that the report was not correct and that they were not involved as reported. On the other hand, the Singapore ambassador plans to clarify with its government and at the same time our ambassador has visited Singapore's foreign minister and explained that the report was baseless," Natalegawa said.
But Natalegawa warned that even if an agreement was ratified, it would be some time before relations, and military and police co-operation, returned to levels seen before the spying scandal. When asked how long the recalled Indonesian ambassador to Australia would remain in Jakarta, Natalegawa added a further indication that the ongoing diplomatic crisis was unlikely to end soon.
"Most importantly, the fifth and the sixth steps, the protocol and code of ethics must be implemented and there must be time to allow for evaluation that it has been implemented," Natalegawa said. "He is still here and I told him to make himself as comfortable as possible in Jakarta; there is no need to rush," he said.
"The sixth step [is] that there is a re-establishment or revival of a sense of trust before we can proceed to look at the bilateral co-operation between the two countries.
"In other words, there is a very clear six steps our president has initiated. I think we have a roadmap now.
"That roadmap has been very clearly laid out by the president. There is nothing mysterious here. Australia needs to sit together with Indonesia and show good intention."
Natalegawa suggested it would be months before the ethics document could be drafted.
"I've been in this job sufficiently long to know it's not wise to have a timeline, deadline," he said.
Thursday's hearing was called by the Indonesian parliament's foreign relations and defence committee to investigate the spying allegations and Australia's response to Indonesia's demands for an explanation.
The hearing was also attended by the defence minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, and the head of the state intelligence office (Bin), Marciano Norman.
National police chief Sutarman and the head of the National Encryption Body, Major General Djoko Setiadi, were also asked to attend.
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