Australia, Indonesia Will Combat People Smuggling (Update2)
March 10, 2010, 1:04 AM EST(Adds Yudhoyono comments starting in second paragraph.)
By Marion Rae
March 10 (Bloomberg) -- Australia and Indonesia agreed to work more closely on combating human smuggling and terrorism and will upgrade annual talks between leaders and officials to a level enjoyed by Australia’s closest ally, the U.S.
The region must cooperate in tackling the problem of people smuggling, Indonesian President Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono told Parliament in Canberra today during a three-day visit to Australia.
“Australia as a destination country and Indonesia as a transit country cannot resolve this issue by ourselves,” Yudhoyono said earlier at a news conference with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. “This framework would include arrangements on temporary transit in Indonesia and how they will be relocated.”
Australia has seen an increase in refugees arriving by boat in the past year, most of them reaching Australian waters via Indonesia. More than 20 boats have arrived so far this year, including a vessel intercepted today.
Rudd welcomed Indonesia’s plan to introduce a law this year to criminalize the smuggling of human beings as part of efforts to combat transnational crime.
Yudhoyono confirmed the identity of a terrorist killed in a police raid near Jakarta yesterday as Jemaah Islamiyah leader Dulmatin, believed to be the mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Top Terrorist
“After a successful police raid against a terrorist hiding out in Jakarta we can confirm that one of those killed was Mr. Dulmatin, one of the top southeast Asian terrorists that we’ve been looking for,” Yudhoyono said at a lunch at Parliament House.
Indonesian police are yet to complete forensic testing on the man killed in the police raid near Jakarta.
Indonesia has worked closely with Australia to combat the terrorist threat posed by groups linked to al-Qaeda, and the two leaders pledged to enhance action to combat militants.
“Indonesian successes in disrupting and dismantling terrorist networks and in the arrest of terrorist leaders have dealt a significant blow to the threat of terrorism in the region,” Rudd said.
The threat posed to Australian tourists and business people travelling in Indonesia was highlighted by the hotel bombings in Jakarta in July 2009. Jemaah Islamiyah is blamed by Indonesia and Australia for bomb attacks in Bali in 2002 and in 2005 when three suicide bombers killed themselves and 20 people.
A 2004 blast outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta killed at least nine people.
Tsunami Disaster
The Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami provided another link for the two countries as Australia contributed emergency personnel for the immediate response and longer-term recovery in Aceh. The disaster left more than 220,000 people dead or missing in 12 countries bordering the Indian Ocean, 100,000 of them in Aceh province.
“If in 2005 our relations became closer because of tragedy, this time our relations are becoming closer and more elevated because of the factor of huge opportunities that lie ahead,” Yudhoyono said.
He said the 13 government ministers, three members of parliament and six governors who travelled with him to Canberra are a “heavy duty delegation which is a fraction of how close our relations have become.”
Trade Matters
Broader cooperation will increase as Australia upgrades its relationship with Indonesia to include annual talks between leaders, ministers and military and law enforcement officials. Agreement has also been reached on possible prisoner transfers between the two countries.
Ties with Australia are “progressing solidly,” Yudhoyono said, and the countries will work closely on climate change and regional stability through groups such as the G20, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and the East Asia Summit.
The counties have concluded a feasibility study into a free trade agreement and are “now considering next steps,” Rudd said. “We share the goal of increasing the volume of bilateral trade and investment,” he added.
Indonesia, the world’s most-populous Muslim nation and the world’s third-largest democracy, is Australia’s 13th-largest trading partner. About 400 Australian companies operate in Indonesia, including in the mining, construction, banking, transport and food and beverage industries.
Yudhoyono is the first Indonesian head of state to give a speech to the Australian Parliament and the fifth global leader to be invited to the podium. He will be followed by President Barack Obama, who will speak to Parliament when he visits Australia later this month.
--Editors: Paul Tighe, John Brinsley
To contact the reporter on this story: Marion Rae in Sydney at mrae3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Iain Wilson at iwilson2@bloomberg.net
