Ideas@TheCentre
Rudd attempts to regain foreign policy credentials with Yudhoyono's visit
The four-day visit by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd achieved little in terms of concrete agreements beyond a ‘secret’ deal on people smuggling. But the real value of Yudhoyono’s visit for the Rudd government was political.
With few foreign policy achievements to speak of, and several high profile missteps in Asia, Rudd’s domestic and international reputation has taken a blow. Meeting one-on-one with Australia’s most important and powerful regional partner was a chance for Rudd to show his critics two things: that he still has the respect of powerful friends in the region and that he will no longer attempt to be the lone ranger in determining Southeast Asia’s future but learn to consult with leaders of the region’s key states.
The government first stumbled when Rudd proposed a security structure in 2008 for an Asia Pacific Community (APC) that could take its inspiration from the European Union and discuss the full range of strategic, security and economic issues in the region within a new multilateral forum. This proposal was put forward without any consultation with key players and was highly unpopular in the region. It was also designed to replace the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Australia is not even a member.
This angered regional players, and Rudd has been trying to recover ever since. Tellingly, Yudhoyono explicitly endorsed ASEAN as his preferred regional grouping, thereby delivering yet another backhander to Rudd’s APC idea.
Bambang’s visit was also fortuitous for another reason. It comes days before US President Barack Obama sets foot on Australian shores. Rudd will want to show that Australia’s ‘special relationship’ with America makes Canberra more important and relevant to a changing region rather than less. That Rudd can walk the walk and talk the talk with Southeast Asia’s largest nation and the world’s superpower is a step towards foreign policy redemption.
Dr John Lee is a Research Fellow with the Foreign Policy Program at The Centre for Independent Studies.
