Joined At The Fulcrum: Enhancing Australia-Indonesia Security Relations

By Kyle Springer

On October 2017, the Perth USAsia Centre convened a group of 21 experts on security, diplomacy, and business to meet with His Excellency Professor Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, former President of the Republic of Indonesia, to explore opportunities and challenges in the Australia – Indonesia security relationship.

This working group was held in Darwin and asked participants to consider the changing security environment in the Indo-Pacific and explore ways in which Australia and Indonesia could cooperate to achieve joint security goals. 

The discussion was guided by the following questions:

1. What traditional and non-traditional security challenges are emerging in our region?

2. How is the regional security architecture – and patterns of leadership within in – changing in the Indo-Pacific?

3. How can Australia and Indonesia combine their maritime and diplomatic capabilities to address shared security challenges?

4. Who are our key partners for developing strategic and security dialogues, and how should these be designed?