Australia, Indonesia get closer

Australia and Indonesia improve relations by making a joint effort to stop human smuggling

CANBERRA, Australia -- In a sign of improving relations, Australian Prime Minister John Howard will visit Indonesia next year to step up joint efforts to combat people smuggling.

Howard will meet Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri some time in February or March to discuss measures to reduce the numbers of Middle Eastern, Asian and Afghan migrants from using Indonesia as a gateway to Australia.

"He is planning a trip to Jakarta but we don't have any precise dates yet," A spokesman for Howard told Reuters news agency.

It will be Howard's second trip to Jakarta since Megawati was elected in July.

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The meeting is seen as a part of reconciliatory efforts by the two countries, whose relations have been strained largely due to the issue of unwanted asylum seekers and the independence of East Timor.

Last week, Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda visited Australia to meet Howard and his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer.

Wirajuda and Downer agreed to co-host a regional forum on people smuggling in Indonesia next February, which will aim to draw in all countries in the people-smuggling chain.

This will include source countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, countries of first asylum such as Jordan and Iran, through to transit countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.

The two countries have also had preliminary meetings aimed at restoring military contacts and ties severed at the time of the East Timor crisis.

Strained ties

Diplomatic ties between Australia and Indonesia turned sour in 1999 after Canberra led an international peace mission in East Timor when a vote of independence from Jakarta turned violent.

Relations further deteriorated in late August when Jakarta refused to take back 433 migrants Australia rescued from a sinking Indonesian vessel in international waters.

Australia was further annoyed when Megawati failed to return Howard's calls to discuss the issue.

Howard had refused to accept the migrants, diverting them to neighboring Pacific nations to assess their refugee claims.

Despite international criticism, Australia's insists accepting the asylum seekers would be detrimental to thousands of other refugees who are languishing in camps awaiting resettlement.

Instead, Australia called on Indonesia to step up its border patrols to help curb the rising tide of migrants arriving illegally to Australia by boat.