Australian PM’s visit to Indonesia overshadowed by asylum seeker deaths

Tony Abbott's visit to Indonesia comes amid rising death roll from asylum seeker boat.

Australia's new prime minister Tony Abbott lays a wreath of flowers at Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery in Jakarta. Romeo Gacad / AFP

Immigration talks

Visit comes amid rising death toll from asylum boat tragedy

JAKARTA // The Australian prime minister arrived in Indonesia yesterday for his first trip abroad since taking office – a visit overshadowed by immigration issues.

These include the climbing death toll from the latest boat tragedy involving Australia-bound asylum seekers.

Tony Abbott’s trip comes three days after the vessel packed with refugees from the Middle East sank in Indonesian waters, killing 36 and leaving dozens of others missing.

Before leaving Sydney yesterday, Mr Abbott stressed the importance of the relationship between the neighbouring countries, which according to his office have two-way trade valued at A$14.6 billion (Dh50bn) a year.

“While Indonesia may not yet be our most important economic or security relationship, it is in many respects our most important relationship,” Mr Abbott said.

“We will be covering a range of matters because this is an important relationship and it’s important to get it right at the start of this new government.”

Mr Abbott was expected to meet one-on-one with the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, yesterday.

He is accompanied on the two-day trip by his country’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, the trade minister, Andrew Robb, and 20 senior businesspeople.

Border issues have been a long-time headache shared by the two countries.

Indonesia, with its thousands of islands and lack of maritime resources, is often used as a transit point by asylum seekers desperate to reach Australia’s Christmas Island in the hopes of starting a better life.

Thousands board rickety fishing boats every year to make the often deadly journey, which typically crosses about 340 kilometres of open sea.

Mr Abbott won the September 7 election on the promise that he would stop the boats of asylum seekers.

Indonesia has expressed concern over his “tow-back” plan, which involves the Australian navy intercepting and forcing back Indonesian fishing boats crowded with asylum seekers.

The Indonesian foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, has warned that the move could breach the country’s sovereignty.

Australia’s immigration minister, Scott Morrison, yesterday maintained his government’s policy of refusing to say whether any boat had been turned back to Indonesia since the new administration took control on September 18.

“I’m not going to comment on operational issues at sea that compromise current and future operations,” Mr Morrison said.

He added that the new government had not changed how Australia responded to search and rescue emergencies.

On Friday, a boat thought to be carrying more than 100 asylum seekers from the Middle East, many from Lebanon, sank off the province of West Java’s Sukabumi district after being hit by high waves.

The search continued yesterday for dozens believed missing after 35 survivors were rescued. The exact number of people aboard the boat was unknown.

Seven more bodies were found late on Sunday and yesterday, bringing the death toll to 36, said Capt Warsono, police chief of Agrabinta in the district of Cianjur.

Separately, Australian navy boats rescued 80 asylum seekers and crew from two sinking boats last week. The passengers were travelling from Indonesia to Australia and were handed over to Indonesian authorities, said Mark Binskin, an air marshal with the Australian military.

Another four boats reached Australian waters last week, he said.

* Associated Press