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Jokowi to discuss S China Sea joint patrols with Turnbull

SYDNEY — Indonesian President Joko Widodo will discuss the prospect of joint patrols with Australia in the South China Sea when he meets Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during a state visit this weekend.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s state visit to Australia, during which he will discuss maritime 

patrols with Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull, will be his first since he was elected in 2014. Photo: Reuters

Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s state visit to Australia, during which he will discuss maritime

patrols with Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull, will be his first since he was elected in 2014. Photo: Reuters

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SYDNEY — Indonesian President Joko Widodo will discuss the prospect of joint patrols with Australia in the South China Sea when he meets Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during a state visit this weekend.

Mr Widodo told The Australian newspaper that he would like to see joint patrols with Australia, but only if they did not further stoke tensions with China.

“If there is no tension, I think it’s very important to have the patrols together. We will discuss this with PM Turnbull,” he said.

Indonesia has traditionally taken a neutral position on the South China Sea, acting as a buffer between China and fellow members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) that have the most at stake, the Philippines and Vietnam.

But after China angered Indonesia by saying the two countries had “overlapping claims” to waters close to Indonesia’s Natuna Islands, Jakarta staged large-scale exercises on the edge of South China Sea in October.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which about US$5 trillion (S$7.19 trillion) in shipborne trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the sea.

Australia — which says it takes no sides on South China Sea disputes, but has supported United States-led freedom-of-navigation activities in the region — has been seeking to repair ties with Indonesia after their most recent spat.

Indonesia suspended military cooperation with Australia in January after “insulting” teaching materials were found at an Australian base.

The materials, which were spotted by a visiting Indonesian officer, contained comments deemed offensive on subjects including the Papua region’s independence movement and Indonesia’s state ideology, known as Pancasila.

While Australia’s army chief apologised to Indonesia this month, military cooperation remains suspended.

Ties between the neighbours have been rocky in recent years due to Jakarta’s execution of Australian drug smugglers and Canberra’s policy of turning migrant boats back to Indonesia, but improved after Mr Turnbull took office in 2015.

Mr Widodo had originally been scheduled to visit Australia in November, but was forced to cancel the trip to deal with the aftermath of a violent mass demonstration against Jakarta’s Christian governor, who is being charged with blasphemy for allegedly insulting the Quran.

Mr Widodo’s visit to Australia this weekend is his first since being elected President in 2014. AGENCIES

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