Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced today he is seeking to establish a new security dialogue with Indonesia in an effort to repair a bilateral relationship damaged by recent spying revelations. In an email interview, Richard Chauvel, senior lecturer at the School of Social Sciences and Psychology at Victoria University, discussed the security relationship between Australia and Indonesia. WPR: What are the main areas of overlap in security interests between Indonesia and Australia? Richard Chauvel: Indonesia remains Australia’s most important regional relationship. Indonesia shapes Australia’s strategic environment. The air and sea approaches to Australia are through the Indonesian archipelago as […]

After winning the October 2013 elections, the new Coalition government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott inherited the difficult task of readjusting Australia’s strategic and defense policy. Power shifts in Asia have already begun to challenge fundamental aspects of Australia’s strategic posture. The rise of China and the relative decline of the U.S. position in the Asia-Pacific region potentially put Australia in a difficult position: that of maintaining close relations with both its major ally, the United States, and its most important trading partner, China. If Sino-U.S. relations become even more competitive, Canberra could find itself between a rock and a […]