Tim Dodd, Jakarta – The Australian Government yesterday announced its first specific moves to rebuild ties with Indonesia's military since 1999's East Timor crisis. The moves include co-operation on fighting terrorism and talks on renewing joint exercises.

Speaking in Jakarta after discussions with Indonesian ministers and military commanders, Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill, also said that for the first time, Indonesian officer cadets would be trained at the Australian Defence Force Academy next year.

The steps announced yesterday are in line with previous government statements that ties would be re-established gradually. "Neither side is rushing to rebuild the defence relationship for the sake of rebuilding the defence relationship. We are seeking to rebuild the relationship to our mutual advantage," Senator Hill said.

He made it clear that Australia's decision to establish closer defence ties did not depend on the Indonesian military's performance in observing human rights. "We haven't established a set of tests as such [on human rights]," he said. "A good step, I think, is for me to be here and for senior ministers to say to me that they believe that to be important and that they are taking active steps to make progress in that regard."

Senator Hill's announcement of closer ties comes just ahead of the trial of 19 people, including two generals, accused of human rights abuses in East Timor in 1999. To be heard by Indonesia's new Human Rights Court, the cases are a crucial test for human rights observance and will be critical in any US decision to resume military-to-military links with Indonesia, which are the subject of a congressional ban.

Senator Hill said the stepped-up intelligence links with Indonesia will build on the memorandum of understanding on combating international terrorism signed during the visit of the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, to Jakarta last month.

He said that Australian intelligence agencies had begun a dialogue with their Indonesian counterparts since the signing. "There will be instances where we can share information to our mutual advantage and agencies have already started to explore how this might work in practice," he said.

Senator Hill also had "preliminary discussions" with Indonesia about carrying out joint maritime surveillance exercises which could lead to "practical work which our two navys might be able to do together to mutual advantage sometime in the future".

And, in an expansion of non-combat training exchanges, seven Indonesian officer cadets – probably two each from the navy and the air force and three from the army – will begin a three-year course next year at the Australian Defence Force Academy. "It's a good investment for Australia in terms of future defence leaders of this country [Indonesia] understanding our society. We would like to think it's a good investment for Indonesia as well," he said.

Australia did not completely break military-to-military ties with Indonesia after its withdrawal from East Timor in September 1999. But links were mainly confined to officer training exchanges.