During the course of their sixty year-old bilateral relationship, Indonesia and China have gone through many ups and downs. A great part of the formative years of this relationship was marred by mutual apathy, if not distrust.
Energy ties between India and Australia are centuries old and can be traced back to the days of East India Company of the British–Indian era. From the first commercial export in the form of a shipment of coal to India from Australia in 1797, energy cooperation has come a long way. For instance, apart from making unswerving attempts to get Australian yellowcake, attempts have been made by India to ensure greater supply of coal and natural gas.
Indonesia, which has been taking significant measures to curb terrorism, scored another success with the arrest of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir aka ABB, suspected of having funded and ideologically motivated Al Qaeda Aceh, in early August 2010. The arrest is just one of the steps in a long, consistent and protracted fight to maintain Indonesia’s secular, democratic and republican credentials.
A ‘Labor government with Independent-Green characteristics’ will have an impact on the government’s style of functioning and might lead to changes in the very core of Australia’s domestic and foreign policy orientations.
On one hand the military Junta is wary of the international backlash in case it tampers with the election process, and on the other it knows what its fate would be if ‘truly fair and democratic elections’ are held.
To distance herself from the adverse fallout of the unpopular policy decisions taken by Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard has decided to seek a fresh mandate from the electorate.
While there is no denying the fact that Rudd’s ideas on foreign policy were well-intentioned, one cannot possibly overlook the fact that it all fell apart in the course of practice.
India needs to engage Singapore more robustly so as to enable the forging of deeper and more broad-based friendships in the Southeast Asian region through Singapore’s good offices.
Myanmar Elections: Domestic Apathy and International Concerns
The outcome of the elections in Myanmar is awaited anxiously by the international community but not much change is expected.