Jakarta: Should Australia move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem?
It’s now more than two weeks since Prime Minister Scott Morrison flagged the proposal on the eve of the Wentworth byelection, and the diplomatic repercussions are still being felt.
While there is little doubt that such a move would please US President Donald Trump – were he to notice it – as it would align Canberra with Washington’s decision to move their embassy earlier this year, the proposal has roiled the Australian foreign policy establishment because of the potential impact on our relationship with near-neighbour Indonesia.
Malcolm Turnbull’s blunt assessment of what would happen if the proposal was implemented – “it would be met with a very negative reaction in Indonesia” – during his visit to Bali this week for meetings with Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has caused bad blood between the prime minister and his predecessor and kicked along debate.
It’s in that context that the warning from Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, Indonesia’s ambassador in Canberra from 2012 to 2017 and a friend of Australia, should be understood.
“The issue of Palestine, for the people of Indonesia, is very deep inside their hearts,” he says.
“The [potential] move of your embassy of course makes people – many people and many organisations – think that this is not a friendly move towards Indonesia.
“It’s difficult for the [Indonesian] government to convince the people that this is nothing to do with our [two nations’] friendship.”
To that end, Nadjib says Australia should pursue a foreign policy more independent of the US and “become more part of Asia”.
That’s a polite way of suggesting Australia should not move its embassy to Jerusalem, nor recognise the city as Israel’s capital.
Read the article by James Massola in The Sydney Morning Herald.