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November 22, 2013
The Indonesian Government is critical of the Abbott Government's policy to turn the boats back and to buy Indonesian fishing boats, and they are angry about Australia's tapping the phones of Yudhoyono, his wife and other senior figures. They are taking it seriously.
The in-your-face response of the conservative base of LNP is to give the Indonesians the finger. Liberal party pollster Mark Textor then fires of this tweet: “Apology demanded from Australia by a bloke who looks like a 1970’s Pilipino [sic] porn star and has ethics to match”; followed by having a go at President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono "What sort of head of state communicates with a head of a neighbouring government by twitter FFS? SBY”.
David Rowe
The snark from the conservative loud mouths, who pride themselves on their strategic grasp of politics, will only deepen the rift. The Indonesians see Australia as demanding that they capitulate to Australian demands. Australia's interests have priority.
The choice is becoming starker for Abbott as he is backed into a corner from adopting the adversarial approach: he can back down, dump the hubris and try to restore co-operation, or continue to risk the rift in the relationship deepening by playing to the conservative base by attacking the Indonesians.
If it is the former, then Abbott is being required by Indonesia to give some assurances about the scope or nature of future Australian surveillance before behind-the-scenes negotiations can succeed.
The ugly Australian is also in evidence with respect to Tamil asylum seekers from Sri Lanka, with his condoning the use of torture and detention camps by the authoritarian regime.
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"Abbott as he is backed into a corner from adopting the adversarial approach"
Abbott is handling the issue of Australia spying on the Indonesian president as he would a political fight with his opponents-- trashing them.
A political fight is hardly the right approach when Abbott says again and again that Indonesia is an important ally, friend and neighbour.