Bilateral relationships as important as that between Jakarta and Canberra deserve better than the brouhaha surrounding the unilateral action by Indonesia's army chief, General Gatot Nurmantyo, in suspending military ties with Australia. The disjointed and contradictory statements that have accompanied the move – amid firm indications President Joko Widodo was not even aware what his military chief had done – does not do Indonesia and its governing processes any credit.
It remains unclear what provoked General Gatot to take the action that he did. He is a long-time critic of Australia and the Australian military, and if there were issues about West Papua raised by teaching material supplied to an Indonesian Kopassus special forces officer training at a defence base in Perth, the Indonesian military chief seems to have been keen to exploit them to the full.
General Gatot has admitted he received a statement of regret from the Australian military for whatever happened in Perth. Yet he has sought to conflate the issue further into one that includes his concern about the rotation of US marines through Darwin which, he has pointed out, is close to West Papua and Indonesia's giant gas block. He also has raised issues about the alleged recruitment by Australia of Indonesian officers as informers.
Added to the mix are claims that an Indonesian officer on the training course in Perth was offended by a poster that allegedly ridiculed his country's founding five principles, the Pancasila. Reports also suggest the Indonesian military's action is linked to Wikipedia references to the father-in-law of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his controversial military service in West Papua. How this can relate to Australia in 2017 is unclear.
The deeper mystery lies, however, in what appears to be General Gatot's initiative in acting unilaterally to suspend military relations – or, rather, some aspects of them – without reference to Mr Joko or even Indonesia's Defence Minister, Ryamizard Ryacudu. Mr Joko's spokesman, Johan Budi, was emphatic in saying, "This was not a decision of the President," while Mr Ryamizard emphasised that "relations with Australia are going great". However, Mr Joko said yesterday he supported the decision to suspend military ties as a "matter of principle". This statement underscores the difficulty the relationship is in. There is no doubt that, for whatever reason, General Gatot has sought to exploit events for his own ends.
We understand the political challenge Mr Joko has in navigating this crisis. For reasons of domestic politics, he must not appear weak in relation to Australia. He will be mindful of concerns raised by General Gatot and Mr Ryamizard, although the military has clearly overstepped the bounds of its authority.
Amid this confusion, it is imperative that Defence Minister Marise Payne and our senior military leaders move swiftly to provide Jakarta with the information and assurances that will repair whatever damage has been done to the bilateral relationship.
Ms Payne says she has known about the matter since November and appears to have relied largely on senior Australian Defence Force officers to deal with it. An official report by Defence has not been completed, although The Australian understands Chief of Army Angus Campbell will visit Jakarta to convey the results.
This bilateral relationship deserves our closest attention. We have been able to deal with previous crises because of the underlying strength and depth of the relationship. Edward Snowden's disclosure about attempts by our Defence Signals Directorate to carry out surveillance of president Yudhoyono, his wife and his advisers posed a bigger threat to relations in 2013 than anything that conceivably could have happened at the Perth training base last year. Indeed, bilateral ties survived it and were soon restored to the mutually beneficial warmth that had long underpinned them. Similarly, tensions over the East Timor crisis in 1999 and the suspension of the live cattle trade in 2011 were soon overcome. So, too, was the fallout following the executions of members of the Bali Nine in 2015.
What is needed now is similar maturity and good sense to avoid a major new rupture in relations. Australia must do what it can to speedily smooth whatever ruffled feathers there are. But it is no less incumbent on Indonesia to do the same and deal decisively with whatever internal pressures and motivations lie behind General Gatot taking the action that he did. It is in the interests of both Australia and Indonesia that cool heads prevail and there is a swift restoration of full military co-operation without delay.