Australia, Indonesia ‘share a future’, Penny Wong assures youth amid concerns about gaps in bilateral ties

Australia’s foreign minister turned on the charm offensive in a dialogue session with Indonesian youth, assuring them the two countries could lean on each other in difficult times

Panel discussions revealed concerns about Aukus, lack of Australian direct investments in Indonesia, and declining trust between the countries

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Indonesian youth sing to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a dialogue session in Jakarta on Wednesday. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:30pm, 12 Jul 2023

Politicians do not usually get sung to, but Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong managed to close a panel discussion in Indonesia to an a cappella rendition of Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me” on Wednesday.

Turning on the charm offensive with Indonesian youth as she advanced plans to deepen relations with Southeast Asia, Wong held an hour-long dialogue session at the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia think tank amid her commitments at meetings in Jakarta with Asean counterparts this week.

As discussions came to a close, host and former Indonesian ambassador to the United States, Dino Patti Djalal, asked Wong if Indonesia and Australia could lean on each other in difficult times.

“Absolutely, we share this region, and we share a future,” she said, as members of the think tank stood delivered the rehearsed song.

Looking bemused and thrilled, Wong was also presented with a T-shirt that read “#AussieBanget”, referring to a cultural campaign promoting Australia in Indonesia launched by the former Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Paul Grigson, in 2019.

Despite a warm welcome and farewell, panel discussions revealed a darker shade to the relationship between the two countries.

When asked, through a show of hands, if a strong relationship between the two countries was an asset to Indonesia’s foreign policy, many raised their hands, but when asked if there was “a high degree of trust” between the two countries”, few did.

While many indicated they would like to study in Australia, others raised their anxieties about Aukus, Australia’s trilateral security alliance with the US and Britain.