James Woodford – The Chief of the Defence Force, General John Baker, the Foreign Minister, Mr Downer, and the Defence Minister, Mr McLachlan, expressed serious concerns yesterday about the strategic implications of the economic turmoil gripping Asia.
General Baker made his comments in an outspoken interview before flying to Indonesiawhere he will spend four days assessing the country's political and economic problems.
His trip will coincide with the handover of the commander of Indonesia's armed forces, General Feisal Tanjung, to his successor, General Wirianto.
General Baker will hold meetings with senior defence officials and officers on the unrest in Indonesia.
"I have a concern about Indonesia, their ability to cope and the effect on the stability of the region," he said.
"I just hope that Indonesia can cope with the pressures they find themselves in. It is a very difficult problem for Indonesia to handle."
General Baker said the economic crisis was forcing a reassessment of Australia's strategic interests in the region.
"Clearly, while I am thereit's an opportunity to talk to Indonesians about their concerns and for me to make assessments of how it affects us." He plans to discuss the crisis with defence officials from Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand.
In a speech to the Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies, the Minister for Defence, Mr McLachlan, said yesterday the impact of the crisis couldnot be dismissed lightly.
"One should not overlook the possibility that the financial crisis could have flow-on effects into political, economic and social stability," he said.
However, he maintained that Australia's Strategic Policy, the review released in December last year, was still valid in the medium to long term.
Mr Downer said a stable Indonesia was important to Australia and that an unstable Indonesia was bad for regional security. "If there's a significant deterioration in the Indonesian economy that is going to lead to a significant upsurge of civil unrest in Indonesia." One fear that officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade hold privately is that the Soeharto Government will overreact to civil unrest.
Mr Downer appealed to Indonesia to act moderately. "I hope if there is an increase in civil unrest that the authorities will handle the difficulties that will arise in a sensitive and appropriate way ... and with full consideration for human rights."
The Opposition spokesman on foreign affairs, Mr Brereton, said Australia should not be distracted by our involvement in Iraq.
No country is more important to Australia than Indonesia," he said. "The Howard Government's response to the growing economic and social turmoil in Indonesia falls well short of the effort required to safeguard Australia's economic, security and humanitarian interests and our stake in this critically important bilateral relationship."