ABSTRACT
Australian attitudes and policy towards Indonesia have exemplified, more than any other bilateral relationship, many of the issues and problems discussed in previous chapters. At times Indonesia has seemed to offer an opportunity for Australia to bridge the gap with East Asia. At other times it has seemed to stand in the way. Despite major difficulties since 1998 the opportunity is still there if responsible Australians are prepared to make some of the shifts discussed in the last chapter. Indonesia is in a process of massive change, but the past is inescapable and indeed in some ways is pressing more heavily on the present than at any time in the last fifty years. We cannot usefully look to the future of Australian policy towards and relations with the region without a closer examination of the evolution and present state of the relationship with Indonesia.
