After five months of diplomatic standoff between and , relations finally thawed when on Monday, 26 June Australian Prime Minister John Howard met ’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the island of Batam . Later to the press, PM Howard underlined ’s recognition of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia , which includes the province of Papua , and that will not become a staging point for Indonesian separatist movements.

Indonesia recalled its ambassador from in March after granted visas to 42 West Papuan asylum seekers. This move Jakarta saw as ’s endorsement of the Papuan separatist movement. , on the other hand, took offense at 's failure to impose travel and economic restrictions on militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who was released from prison earlier this month having been been held for 26-months for exhaustive investigations for alleged involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings.

Emerging from an hour-long meeting, Howard and Yudhoyono said that each country has to accept the integral legal processes of the other.

Although the Howard - Yudhoyono meeting did not result in any written declarations but the leaders released recent letters outlining their commitment to the fight against terror.

"I reiterate that recent developments do not detract us in any way to our commitment to intensify our effort to fight terrorism and to bring anyone responsible for terrorist activities to justice," Yudhoyono said at a news conference with Howard.

In a June 21 letter to Howard, released Monday, Yudhoyono pointed out that Indonesian authorities have captured and arrested 322 terrorists suspected of involvement in bombings in .

"Five have been given the death penalty, including the three key perpetrators of the first Bali bombings: Imam Samudra, Amrozi and Ali Gufron. 260 terrorists have been sentenced to prison, 30 have been acquitted, 13 are being investigated by the police and 14 are being processed in the courts," Yudhoyono's letter said.

The two leaders also discussed the progress of a proposed prisoner exchange scheme, 's nuclear ambitions, trade and the political upheaval in impoverished East Timor where Prime Minister Mari Alkitiri resigned earlier Monday.

But the main topic of the "friendly, neighborly, productive and constructive" meeting was Papua's status.

"We do not wish to see separatist movements arise in any part of ," Howard said. "My government does not wish to see used as a staging post for separatist or encourage separatist governments."

Both leaders said they expect the bilateral relationship to strengthen, with an Australia-Indonesia ministerial meeting in Bali later in the month and a delegation of senior Australian businesspeople, led by Woodside Petroleum Ltd. ( WPL.AU) chairman Charles Goode, to visit Indonesia in August, reports Dow Jones Newswire’s Barbara Adam.

Wide-Ranging Bilateral Cooperation through the Indonesia-Australia Ministerial Forum

And indeed, the eigth -Australia Ministerial Forum was convened in Bali on 28 and 29 June. The Australian delegation which counted five Ministers, was led by the Hon Alexander Downer MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, while the the Indonesian delegation, comprising eleven Ministers, was led by Dr Boediono, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs. 

In the Forum, each delegation reaffirmed Australia’s and Indonesia's strong commitment to and respect for each country's territorial integrity and unity, said the statement released at the end of the Meeting, as mentioned in Indonesia’s Trade and Investment News, issued by the Coordinating Ministery for Economic Affairs.  

The Forum’s agenda included a wide range of topics from security matters, counter-terrorism and other transnational threats, to avian influenza, disaster management and reduction, to interfaith dialogue, education, illegal fishing, infrastructure, energy and minerals and other development cooperation, including a subsidiary agreement whereby Australia would assist Indonesia with a A$10 million emergency avian influenza assistance program.

At the Meeting, agreed to assist with A$ 2 billion for a period of five years, reports Bisnis . Of which A$ 1 billion may be disbursed within this year.  The amount includes additional funds of A$63 million that includes A$ 30 million for the restoration and recovery of Yogyakarta post 27 May earthquake.  These funds will be used to build schools, health, housing and other facilities to shore up employment of the community’s income, so that the province’s economy may recover in the shortest possible time.

While on the response to earthquake victims in Yogyakarta and Central Java , the Meeting “acknowledged the valuable and timely responses of the integrated disaster relief teams which provided an excellent model to respond to natural disasters. Ministers noted the effective mobilisation of domestic resources by the Indonesian Government.The Meeting also agreed that remaining grant funding under the Australia-Indonesia Partnership will be used for programs to reconstruct and rehabilitate devastated areas in the two provinces”.

On his part, Minister Boediono explained to the press that this is the first time that receives such long term multi-year commitment, since so far all other loans from CGI and other international institutions are made for a period of one year only. 

Agreements in other sectors included cooperation in defense and security, fishery and maritime affairs, development in the industrial sector, the issue of illegal logging, forest fires, reforestation and tourism. On the subject of Defense, Minister Downer explained that discussions were not about a military alliance, rather on defense cooperation , which includes border issues, the fight against terrorism and other cross-border crimes.

commended for its active role in promoting bilateral and regional cooperation in combating terrorism, including the significant progress in apprehending and prosecuting terrorists and their supporters in .  Ministers further acknowledged the deep and broad bilateral cooperation in areas such as law enforcement, border control, intelligence, terrorist financing, transport security, legislative reform and defence. 

On the pandemic threat of avian influenza, Ministers agreed that avian and pandemic influenza continued to pose a significant potential threat to countries in the region and recognized the importance of bilateral and multilateral cooperation in ASEAN Disease Surveillance. Ministers agreed that animal health surveillance is a high priority.  They also agreed on the importance of transparency in the reporting of influenza cases in humans and animals, and to prompt sharing of epidemiological data with the World Health Organisation.  Ministers affirmed the value of enhancing Australian assistance in the areas of capacity building to prevent and contain an emerging influenza pandemic, surveillance and early intervention in response to outbreaks.
In the field of marine affairs and fisheries, Ministers further welcomed the increased cooperation between and , covering fisheries management and conservation on shared stock, combating illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, enhanced better understanding and management of the MoU Box, and partnership and coordination. Ministers reiterated the importance of the 1997 Perth Treaty Ministers, and reconfirmed the importance of pursuing cooperative naval activity, where possible.
 
To enhance people-to-people relations, Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the protection of human rights and promoting tolerance and mutual understanding between different religions and cultures, and working together to counter radicalisation and the spread of extremism. Ministers welcomed the outcomes of the Second Regional Interfaith Dialogue held in March 2006 and noted the important role of religious leaders, in collaboration with government, to strengthening moderate voices within their respective communities.
 
Ministers also recognised the contribution of cooperative activities and welcomed further cooperation in agriculture, minerals and energy, specific industrial sectors, and other sectors that enhanced bilateral trade and trade with other countries. Ministers welcomed and encouraged 's efforts to progress the necessary domestic economic reforms to increase its competitiveness and improve the investment climate, as well as to implement its commitments under bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements.

(Sources: Dow Jones Newswire, ’s Trade and Investment News, Bisnis )