Changed policy on Indonesia and East Timor would cost Australia dearly, according to a former Ambassador to Indonesia, Richard Woolcott.
Mr Woolcott cited several costs. Much of the recently announced defence spending of $23 billion could be put down to the changed landscape – money that could otherwise have been spent on health, education and scientific research, he said. Australian would have to renegotiate the Timor Gap treaty with respect to oil and other resources. This could be very costly.
Australia would have to spend are large amount supporting an independent Eat Timor. Australia had already spent $4 billion on the INTERFET and UNTAET mission to East Timor.
Our standing with South-East Asian neighbours had been adversely affected with Australia now shut out of a number of regional security and economic groupings.
Also, Indonesia itself was now less stable, with adverse consequences for Australia.
In an article published today, Mr Woolcott called for a rebuilding of the Australian relationship with Indonesia in a context of an independent East Timor and to build a close triangular relationship. He said it would be a mistake for East Timor to have Portuguese as its official language.
Reflecting on the past, he said it was easy to want to be on the side of morality and supporting freedom and the rights of the weak but diplomacy had to be conducted “”in the world as it is, not in the world as it should be”.