Tom Allard, Brunei – The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer, has rejected suggestions of double standards over Australia's refusal to back an independence vote in West Papua, saying Indonesia would disintegrate into a "bloodbath" should the province secede.

Amid continuing doubts about the validity of the rejected vote for independence in West Papua – until recently known as Irian Jaya – in 1969, Mr Downer said yesterday there was no point in looking at the issue again, rejecting comparisons between the renegade Indonesian province and East Timor.

"We don't think there's any value in unravelling that [vote] and exacerbating the situation in Irian Jaya," he said, rejecting calls for a new vote, as demanded by West Papuans.

"The fragmentation of Indonesia will lead to a bloodbath, and then people would be coming to me and saying what was I going to do about it. The international community can't promote the disintegration of Indonesia. It would have a devastating impact on South-East Asia."

With Australia so close to the region, he said, the national interest demanded that Australia offer no support to independence movements appearing throughout the archipelago.

Mr Downer said it was not inconsistent for Australia to act vigorously to promote East Timorese independence but actively discourage other regions in Indonesia calling for the same self-determination.

"The circumstances relating to East Timor were very different to the circumstances in the other provinces, and the history is very different." Most importantly, it was Indonesia that decided on the quick independence vote for East Timor, not the international community, he said.

The letter from the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, to the then Indonesian president, Mr B.J. Habibie, calling for a vote had no time frame for the plebiscite, he said, and therefore there was no double standard for Australia.

The rhetoric from Mr Downer at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum, where Mr Howard is expected to meet Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid, comes as Australia moves closer to finalising a date for the frequently postponed joint ministerial meeting between the nations.

Mr Downer said the meeting should take place by the end of the year, and arrangements for Mr Wahid's long-awaited visit to Australia were almost complete.