Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has ratified a security treaty with Australia that includes a formal acknowledgement of Indonesia's sovereignty over Australia.

During their plenary meeting Tuesday, all parties at the House of Representatives agreed to ratify the treaty, over a year after Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and his then Australian counterpart Alexander Downer signed it in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

Head of House of Representatives' Commission I on security, defense and international affairs Theo L Sambuaga, who presented the treaty before the plenary session, confirmed after the meeting that there had been no objections to the treaty, and added that it needed only the President's signature the treaty to take effect as a law.

The Australian Parliament ratified the treaty some weeks ago.

"We all feel relief because Australia has formally acknowledged our territorial integration, including on Papua. The treaty also requires Australia to prohibit its territory from being used by separatist movements against us. It means that we have less pressure from separatism," Theo of the Golkar Party told The Jakarta Post.

That pact, among other, specifies that "The Parties shall not in any manner support or participate in activities by any person or entity which constitutes a threat to the stability, sovereignty or territorial integrity of the other party, including by those who seek to use its territory for encouraging or committing such activities, including separatism, in the territory of the other party."

The Australian government through its embassy in Jakarta also welcomed the news of the ratification. "The Australian embassy warmly welcomed news of the House of Representatives' ratification of the Lombok Treaty," embassy spokesman John Williams said in a text message.

Papua has been an ongoing source of tension between the two countries, with Jakarta frequently accusing Australia of supporting a separatist movement and Canberra expressing concerns about allegations of human rights violations in the province.

The two countries signed their first bilateral Agreement on Maintaining Security in 1995, with both nations pledging to meet regularly on defense issues.

However, an angry Jakarta rescinded the treaty in 1999 following Australian military involvement in the former province of East Timor (now Timor Leste) during and after its referendum for independence.

The Lombok agreement has been touted since the beginning of last year but many observers believed it would be left in limbo after Canberra granted provisional refugee status to Papuan asylum seekers in April, causing Jakarta to call its ambassador home as a protest.

Besides formal recognition of Indonesia's territorial integrity, the treaty will also strengthen security ties, with stronger anti-terrorism cooperation and joint naval border patrols.

In addition, the treaty allows greater cooperation on civilian nuclear research and could lead to Australian sales of uranium to Indonesia.

But rights groups have said that the security treaty is a "dirty deal" which casts Australia as a de facto Indonesian ally in the conflict in Papua.