Based on the 2005 Indonesia Update Conference held at the Australian National University, 23-24 September 2005.

This volume explores the domestic and transnational considerations associated with Indonesia's ascent, referring to its rise in terms of hard and soft power and its likely trajectory in the future. The range of contributors analyse economic resources, religious harmony, security, regional relations, leadership and foreign policy.

Australia's contribution to Indonesia's independence struggle is broadly well-known and this book explores an important part of the story: Australia's leading role in the 1947 UN Consular Commission and the monitoring of the first UN cease-fire order. The commission's military observers were pioneer peacekeepers, and an examination of the commission's activities is useful for understanding the Indonesian independence struggle in the following years. Australia's involvement also played a positive role in long-term Australian-Indonesian relations.

"Australia's relations with Indonesia are currently at a low ebb. The optimistic prospects of the mid-1990s had collapsed almost completely by the year 2000. Senior Indonesian officials were angered after that by the triumphalist tone of John Howard's public statements after the intervention in East Timor, by the megaphone diplomacy resorted to by some Australian ministers to express their displeasure at Indonesian policies or actions, by Howards acquiescence in the use of the term deputy sheriff to the US in our region, and particularly by his assertion of a right to make pre-emptive strikes against terrorists in neighbouring countries if he deemed it necessary. When demands arose in Papua for a greater degree of autonomy and in some quarters for full independence after East Timor achieved it independence, arousing vocal support from pro-Papuan groups in Australia, suspicions arose in Indonesia that many Australians were seeking to detach Papua from the unitary state of Indonesia and perhaps to bring about the fragmentation (or Balkanisation) of Indonesia. Then the new element of terrorism entered into the picture after the war of terror triggered by the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington, followed by the October 2002 Bali bombing which thrust Jemaah Islamiyahs (JI) terrorists from Indonesia, some with links to Osama bin Laden, into the limelight. Remarkably successful cooperation by the AFP and Polri were not sufficient to offset the frictions that arose over Australian impatience at Indonesian reluctance to take strong punitive action against terrorist suspects and Indonesian reluctance to do so."--Provided by publisher.

ln early 2020, Australia and Indonesia entered an historic high point in their bilateral relationship. The President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, visited Canberra where he addressed the Joint Houses of Parliament, and meetings were held to put the final touches on the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (IA CEPA). Since then, tested by the COVID-1 9 pandemic crisis, the strength and depth of the Australia-Indonesia relationship—between governments, also business and community organisations and individuals—has come more clearly into focus. The people-to-people connectivity that has driven the Australia-Indonesia relationship is being re-imagined in creative, digital ways, and in the face of a global economic crisis IA CEPA is a bright spot for potential growth in trade and exchange. ln response to these trends and opportunities for deepening engagement, the chapters in this volume represent research undertaken by Indonesians and Australians working together as part of a collaborative research program initiated by the Australia-Indonesia Centre, with a focus on thematic areas, Youth and Education, and Business and Tourism, Digital Futures and Connectivity. Collectively, the research offers insights into what is driving Indonesia'sfuture with a focus on its young people—those aged 17-35 years are the largest single demographic group in Indonesia—digital technologies and an increasingly mobile middle-class. What is shaping the outlook of young Indonesians on the world and their relations with their regional neighbours, including Australia? How are Indonesians using digital technologies for social and commercial exchange in ways that are making them increasingly open to international connections?What kinds of experiences are Indonesia's increasingly mobile middle-classes looking for when they travel overseas for education or leisure? What does this mean in terms of opportunities for greater connectivity and exchange within the Australia-Indonesia relationship after the crisis has subsided and beyond?

For fifty years, Australia has schemed to deny East Timor billions of dollars of oil and gas wealth. With explosive new research and access to never-before- seen documents, Kim McGrath tells the story of Australia’s secret agenda in the Timor Sea, exposing the ruthlessness of successive governments. Australia did nothing to stop Indonesia’s devastating occupation of East Timor, when – on our doorstep – 200,000 lives were lost from a population of 650,000. Instead, our government colluded with Indonesia to secure more favourable maritime boundaries. Even today, Australia claims resources that, by international law, should belong to its neighbour – a young country still recovering from catastrophe and in desperate need of income. Crossing the Line is a long-overdue exposé of the most shameful episode in recent Australian history. ‘Revelatory, extraordinary and compelling – an absolute must-read.’ —Peter Garrett ‘Crossing the Line is an unassailable exposé of Australia’s ruthless pursuit of resources in the Timor Sea. A timely and definitive book.’ —José Ramos-Horta ‘Kim McGrath has trawled the national archives to produce the smoking gun on Australia’s callous betrayal of the people who supported our commandos in World War II, and on the immoral and unlawful appropriation of their oil.’ —Paul Cleary Kim McGrath has been published in the Monthly and has long experience working in government and policy development. She is Research Director at the Bracks Timor-Leste Governance Project, which provides policy advice to the Timor-Leste government.

Troubled Transit considers the situation of asylum seekers stuck in limbo in Indonesia from a number of perspectives. It presents not only the narratives of many transit migrants but also the perceptions of Indonesian authorities and of representatives of international and non-government organizations responsible for the care of transiting asylum seekers. Fascinated by the extraordinary and seemingly limitless resilience shown by asylum seekers during their often lengthy and dangerous journeys, the author highlights one particular fragment of their journeys — their time in Indonesia, which many expect to be the last stepping stone to a new life. While they long for their new life to unfold, most asylum seekers become embroiled in the complexities of living in transit. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is more than a location where people spend time waiting; it is a nation state that interacts with transiting asylum seekers and formulates policies that have a profound impact on their experience in transit there. Troubled Transit tries to explain the complexities faced by the transiting migrants within the context of the Indonesian government and its political challenges, including its relationship with Australia. The Australia-centric view of recent asylum seeker issues has tended to ignore the larger socio-political context of the migratory routes and the perspectives of transit states towards asylum seekers stuck in transit. This book hopes to direct the Australia-centric gaze northwards to take Indonesian policies and policymaking into account, thereby giving Indonesia more relevance as a transit country and as an important partner in regional protection schemes and migration management. Even though some Indonesian policies and practices are less than favourable for asylum seekers, and even reprehensible from a human rights perspective, more attention must be paid to ongoing developments that impact on transiting asylum seekers in Indonesia if any of the hardships they suffer there are to be alleviated.