Bishop at the ASEAN meet; focuses to normalise ties with Indonesia

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop after meeting her Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi at the annual talks of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has ensured that the countries no longer share a strenuous relationship, which developed after a diplomatic freeze over the issue of asylum seekers boat turn-backs and the execution of the Bali Nine duo.

Having had a very “candid conversation” with Ms Marsudi at the ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, Bishop said that maintaining a healthy relationship with Indonesia is very important for both countries’ national interests. She also asserted the relationship between Australia and Indonesia was never on the edge despite being subjected to “challenges from time to time.”

“We had a very open and candid discussion about a whole range of issues and as I anticipated the relationship is strong and I believe that we will be able to engage even more deeply across a whole range of matters that are of concern to both Australia and Indonesia,” Bishop said.

At the ASEAN meet, Marsudi equally spoke in support of Australia, said Bishop. Their meeting was considered very important as it was the first time the duo have met since the Australian government called back its ambassador from Jakarta as a mark of protest at the death of rehabilitated drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in April by the Indonesian firing squad.

Trade minister Andrew Robb is also set to lead a delegation of Australian businessmen to Indonesia to further strengthen ties, said Ms Bishop, while about 20 Australian government departments and agencies have been working with the Indonesian government on a wide range of common interests. She emphasised that she stayed in contact with Marsudi despite sharing many conflictual situations. "We are neighbours. We have many interests in common," she added.

With Indonesia declaring it would cut down on cattle imports from Australia, Bishop plans to discuss extensively on the issue and figure out ways to boost trade. She also spoke on the issue of the South China Sea dispute, despite China's objections to the issue being discussed .

Bishop called upon the ASEAN countries and most importantly China to not block navigation through the waters by carrying on with their reclamation activities, adding, "We need to see a stop to coercive and unilateral behaviour in the South China Sea.”

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