Australia May Exert Pressure on Indonesia over Papua

Jakarta (Antara) - Australia may try to exert pressures on Indonesia over the Papua issue following the strained relations between the two countries over a spying allegation, a political scientist said. "It seems that Indonesia was trying to avoid protracted strained diplomatic relations with Australia. The Papua issue will force Indonesia to maintain its relations with Australia," Director of Indonesian National Policy Studies (CINAPS)Guspiabri Sumowigeno, said here on Sunday. According to Guspiabri, after receiving Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's letter, Indonesia proposes to Australia the drafting of a code of ethics protocol in carrying out their bilateral relations. If the code of ethics is already drafted, it would be endorsed by the heads of state of the two countries. "Actually it is not normal for a country, whose interest has been harmed, to propose a solution for improving their damaged relations," he said. After all, Indonesia has received a Hercules plane from Australia while the Indonesian Intelligence Agency (BIN) has claimed its Australian counterpart will not repeat the wiretapping again. This indicates that Indonesia softens too fast and wants to normalize relations soon, even without apology from the Australian government. The softening of the Indonesian stance is an anticipatory step against possible backlash of Australia through the Papuan issue. The steps are expected to normalize strained relations where Australia is expected to maintain its recognition of Papua as part of the Unitary State of Indonesia. Guspi said that the public actually wanted Indonesia to be firmer against Australia but the government felt it was difficult to do so. This is because Indonesia depends on political cooperation with Australia to ensure the political status of Papua. (*)