indonesian response to deteriorating situation, page-210

this notion of closing doors to indo and other asian nations is pure fantasy. australia is in the Asian domain....get it. This is not the anglosphere anymore, John 'dinosaur' Howards philosophy doesnt apply in the modern age. The sooner we engage asia properly the better. We are a multicultural society and becoming more 'asiatised' with each passing decade. We have the largest population on the planet on our doorstep, you cant just close shop and pretend they dont exist, its just a ridiculous comment. this is not 1900, we are 100 + years on from the sort of destructive, war conducive concept of alienating countries because you might have differences of opinion with them. Come on fellas, its 2013, age of engagement and globalisation, The world is a very very much smaller place. Burning bridges just leaves you stranded ....get it?? hooley dooley !