Indonesia, Australia and ASEAN

Indonesia's relationship with Australia takes place in a broader regional context that is complex and shifting. This context, which includes the increasing power and assertiveness of China, India's 'Look East' policy, and the pervasive but inconstant influence of the US, profoundly affects the nature and strength of bilateral relations between Indonesia and Australia. In several respects, Indonesia and Australia share the same regional vision for Asia: a concert of powers in which the interests of very powerful states are constrained by mutual tolerance, respect, accommodation and compromise. The two countries do not, however, necessarily share the same understanding of how best to realise this vision.