Indonesian president offers Australia spying truce

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says his country will restore normal diplomatic relations if Tony Abbott signs up to ethics code

Oliver Laughland in Canberra and Karima Anjani in Jakarta

Indonesia's president has said that his country will restore normal diplomatic relations with Australia if prime minister Tony Abbott signs up to a new bilateral code of ethics on intelligence-sharing.

But Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also said that his government would summon Singaporean and South Korean diplomats in Jakarta over reports they had assisted Australian and US spying in the region.

Relations between Jakarta and Canberra were downgraded last week following revelations published by Guardian Australia and the ABC that Australian intelligence agencies had targeted Yudhoyono's personal phone and those of his wife and inner circle.

Yudhoyono said on Tuesday he would appoint a special envoy to draft and negotiate the new "code of ethics" between the two countries and added that he hoped Abbott would join him to sign the code in person once it had been agreed.

"When both countries, but particularly Indonesia, have regained trust and also when the protocol and code ethics are fully implemented, then we can continue mutual beneficial bilateral relations including military and police co-operation between the two countries," Yudhoyono said.

Yudhoyono added that Abbott's letter had assured him that Australia would not take any action that "disturbs and damages relations with Indonesia".

Earlier, the president tweeted a photograph of himself reading a conciliatory letter from Abbot, which was hand-delivered at the weekend. But he laid out six steps before relations could be properly restored.

The statement is likely to be seen as a positive sign from Jakarta, which had temporarily halted all military co-operation and information sharing with Australia, as well as all co-operation on people smuggling. On Tuesday the Indonesian trade minister also said he was considering halting beef imports from Australia.

But the news that Yudhoyono would be summoning Singaporean and South Korean diplomats is likely to raise eyebrows as neither country had previously been mentioned in connection with the phone tapping.

"I have discussed the matter with the [Indonesian] foreign affairs minister and asked for clarification from related ambassadors here," Yudhoyono said at a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta.

Yudhoyono had previously described Abbott's response to the phone-tapping revelations as "belittling" after the prime minister refused to apologise. Abbott has refused to confirm or deny that the phone-tapping took place.

The president used the press conference to reassure Canberra that relations between Australia and Indonesia were "in essence" very good and must be safeguarded.

Yudhoyono acknowledged that the process of negotiating a new code of ethics might take time. "It needs process of course, intensive discussion and diplomacy," he said. "We will conduct it in the near future."

Separately, Malaysia's foreign ministry summoned a senior Singaporean diplomat over allegations that the city-state had helped the United States and Australia tap telecommunications links in Asia forespionage. Singapore's government has not publicly responded to the allegations.

The Malaysian foreign minister, Anifah Aman, said in a statement that his ministry was seeking clarification from Singapore's high commissioner to Malaysia.

"If those allegations are eventually proven, it is certainly a serious matter that the government of Malaysia strongly rejects and abhors," Anifah said. He said spying against a good friend and neighbour was unacceptable.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/26/indonesian-president-australia-spying-truce