Thanks for those links - the excerpt below from Howard Dick's Asia Link Essay certainly brought back memories, reminding me of the scars from the Howard Years:
"... It did not help that at the time Indonesia was in turmoil because of the economic devastation of the Asian crisis and the transition from military dictatorship to parliamentary democracy. When Indonesia was in desperate need of understanding and massive aid, the Australian Government was seen to have turned away. Then came 9/11. As a predominantly Muslim country, Indonesia was now portrayed by the Howard Government as the threat that many Australians had always believed it to be. The deaths of so many Australians in the Bali bombings of October 2002 and September 2005 was the ultimate confirmation. There was also the influx of ‘boat people’ and the perceived threat to Australia’s border security. Thus while Indonesians were trying to rebuild their country, Australia was seen to be pursuing a narrow and selfish security agenda by means of what President Megawati once tellingly described as ‘megaphone diplomacy’. Prime Minister John Howard’s clumsy remark about Australia’s role as Deputy-Sheriff for the United States reverberated in Indonesia and encouraged those who argued that Australia was an emerging military threat. ..."
Throw in Edward Snowden's spying allegations, add Tony Abbott's election campaign, his recent demands of Indonesia followed by his failure to act on Mark Tesler's outbursts and all that procrastination and chest-beating and ...
"Indonesian diplomatic crisis: Only full explanation will do, SBY tells Tony Abbott"
