Tony Abbott downplays revelation Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono let reporters listen in to phone call
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Version 0 of 1. Tony Abbott has tried to downplay the revelation that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono allowed Indonesian journalists to listen in on a private telephone conversation between the two leaders last month, saying the important thing was the cordial tone of the discussion. The prime minister and the president will have their first face-to-face meeting on Wednesday since the bilateral relationship was plunged into a deep freeze after revelations that in 2007 Australia had spied on Yudhoyono, his wife and his close allies and after Australia began the controversial policy of turning back asylum seeker boats to Indonesia. According to the Jakarta Post the meeting and dinner will take place on the sidelines of a Qur’an recitation contest on the island of Batam. A meeting between the pair on Bali last month was cancelled, officially because Abbott was caught up with budget preparations but reportedly because it would have coincided with another boat turnback. But, according to the ABC, the pair did have a phone conversation, during which Indonesian journalists were “accidentally” allowed to stay in the room. One posted a partial transcript of the discussion, in which Yudhoyono proposes a June meeting. The transcript reads as follows: Yudhoyono: Because that time will be the election for a new president. If we can meet before August, then we can complete everything. We can strengthen and step up our relationship even higher. Abbott: I will prove that there is a new relationship between Indonesia and Australia as fast as possible. Yudhoyono: I'd be glad to join, and we can meet before August ... like in June. We can prove that new relationship. I believe our relationship will get stronger and benefit each other. Asked about the revelation, Abbott told the ABC’s AM program: “Well, it was a very good conversation, it really was … Look, I was having a very genial conversation with the president, and I could tell the president was very keen to have a warm conversation with me, and the important thing was the cordiality of the conversation.” Asked about the meeting on Batam on Wednesday, Abbott said he was “looking forward to making sure the relationship is on a very strong footing” and would assure Yudhoyono that Australia would always treat Indonesia with respect and “will always cooperate when we can”. But Indonesian officials are cautioning that a full restoration of ties will have to wait until the foreign ministers can negotiate the code of conduct demanded by Yudhoyono after the spying revelations. Yudhoyono said the code would have to include "protocols'' and guarantees that the phones of Indonesian politicians would not be monitored in the future. Teuku Faizasyah, the president’s spokesman for international relations, told the Jakarta Post Indonesia would maintain its embargo on several bilateral agreements until both parties agreed to the code, which is still being drafted. Abbott said the fact that few boats were now leaving Indonesia’s shores meant one source of friction was “drying up”. Both Abbott and Yudhoyono, who has always been seen as a great “friend” to Australia, want to repair the relationship as much as possible before the president ends his term in October. In a further sign relations between the countries were beginning to return to normal after the revelations – based on leaks from the whistleblower Edward Snowden – the Indonesian ambassador to Australia, Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, returned to Canberra last week. |