First to Indonesia, where security has been stepped up across the country following yesterday's bomb attack at Jakarta's international airport. Eleven people were injured after a pipe bomb exploded near an airport restaurant. It was the second bomb attack in three days. Jakarta is pointing the finger of blame at local separatists or the Jemaah Islamiah terror group. The airport attack is a major setback for the Indonesian Government which is trying to persuade foreign governments that security is improving.

Presenter/Interviewer: Sarah Gibson

Speakers: Former Indonesian Defence Minister, Professor Juwono Sudarsono; Tim Gerhardseon, assistant information officer at the US Embassy in Jakarta; Dr Sandy Gordon, terrorism expert at the Australian Defence Force Academy

Gibson: Initial suspicion for the bomb blast at Jakarta's Sukarno Hata international airport fell on the Jimah Islamiah terror group. It went off four days after the start of the treason trial of alleged JI spiritual leader, Abul Baka Bashir and the subsequent arrest of 18 JI suspects.

Doctor Sandy Gordon teaches terrorism at the Australian Defence Force Academy and was an intelligence advisor and security analyst for the Australian Federal Police, which has worked closely with the Indonesian government on the Bali bombing. He says it's still not clear whose responsible.

Dr. Gordon: "I notice that the minister for police and security affairs has made that link. The police on the otherhand has said it's possibly linked to the Aceh rebels and it's similar to a bomb according to the police that was detonated in Medan and they blame that on the Aceh rebels Sakam."

"These aren't new events in terms of Indonesia. We had the bombings on the churches and the Bali bombings of course were of a vastly different order in terms of the sophistication of the bombs and the numbers killed. But definitely this is an ongoing cause for concern."

Gibson: Professor Juwono Sudarsono, a former Indonesian defence minister who currently lectures in International Affairs at the University of Indonesia veers towards JI in his assessment, pointing out the symbolism of the bomb which exploded at the airport and near a US fast food outlet. But importantly, he believes this bomb won't be the last.

Sudarsono: "I think that these bombings will probably be repeated over the next couple of weeks simply because these constitute the symbols of resistance against the government on the part of the sympathisers."

"At the moment, we are not to sure about the identity of these current bombers, but we suspect strongly that these would constitute symbolic resistance to the holding of the trials and to the general – the climate of defiance against the government."

Gibson: Last week, US authorities declared Indonesia safe for the return of non-essential personnel and diplomatic families who were evacuated in the aftermath of the Bali bombings. And despite the latest bomb, the US is not reversing its advice.

America last year gave 50 million US dollars towards police training and counter terrorism. Tim Gerhardseon, assistant information officer at the US embassy in Jakarta, rejects suggestions that Indonesia's campaign against terror has suffered a setback. He says authorities have been heartened by recent arrests and increased security around US diplomatic facilities.

Gerhardseon: "We believe that yes the police training has had a positive impact here in Indonesia. We also feel that the support that we're giving the Indonesian police is just one small part and certainly not the entire driving force towards reform. We think it's a very long process, something that has just recently got underway and also feel that there's been very substantial progress."

Gibson: Former Indonesian defence minister, Juwono Sudarsono, agrees that reform of the police force is a long process that has only just begun. He says Indonesia will never be able to deal with these or any other crimes until the police force has the resources to do its job.

Sudarsono: "One must think that in the circumstances and there are too many cases that are being handled by the police, not just terrorism but even for domestic security, we have never been able to establish a strong and effective police force because the resources and the manpower are just not there."

Gibson: If they don't have the resources now when there's so much publicity, so much of an international spotlight on these problems, do you think they're ever going to have it?

Sudarsono: "Well, I think it's a matter of the statistics, the population of Jakarta is around 8 million and the police force is no more than about 35,000, so I think it's probably too much to expect that they can anticipate every kind of bombing or terrorist acts or semi-terrorist acts."

Gibson: And what else needs to be done to make sure Indonesia is safe for its own citizens and for visitors from other countries?

Sudarsono: "Well, I think realistically we need at least we need at least a 10 year plan to bolster the Indonesian police and the military budget to make them more accountable, more transparent and more fair."