Poor old Indonesia - it seems no matter what happens Australians are not warming to our northern neighbour.

Within a decade Indonesia is set to join the ranks of the largest 10 economies in the world, but many Australians are not seeing it as an important country they should care about.

The latest Lowy Institute Foreign Policy Poll reveals Australians have warmer feelings towards Spain, Fiji and Papua New Guinea than they have for Indonesia.

Almost half (48 per cent) of those surveyed believe China is likely to become a military threat over the next 20 years. However, Australians' feelings of "warmth" towards China have risen by six points and most believe China is Australia's best friend in Asia.

Not so for Indonesia. In the warmth rankings - from 0 to 100 degrees - Indonesia came in at 52 degrees, down 1 degree from last year.

Above Indonesia is India at 57 degrees, East Timor at 58, Papua New Guinea 59 and China at 60.

The warmest feelings are for New Zealand, at 84 degrees, followed by Canada, the Netherlands and the United States.

Below Indonesia on the scale are Israel, Burma, Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea.

While bilateral ties were frozen by Indonesia as a result of spying allegations that arose from documents released by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, Australia has continued to put great emphasis on the relationship.

On the eve of his meeting with Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Parliament it is essential the relationship continues to improve.

"It is a very important relationship - in some respects our most important relationship," Mr Abbott said.

"I am particularly keen to do everything I can to improve the relationship."

Indonesian relationship important strategically: ADF chief

At Defence estimates hearings, Chief of the Australian Defence Force General David Hurley said that despite a break in joint exercises and military cooperation with Indonesia since last November, the Australian-Indonesian relationship is the regional bond that Australia most focuses on.

"Australia invests more in the Indonesian relationship and it is very important to us strategically," he said.

Usually Australia is involved in maritime and air exercises with its Indonesian military counterparts and the special forces train in hostage rescue and counterterrorism with Kopassus.

However, the survey suggests Australians do not share the same enthusiasm for the relationship with Indonesia that the Government shows.

A majority of those surveyed said relations were "friendly" but 40 per cent said they were worsening.

Australians believe the priority issues for the relationship are regional security, terrorism and asylum seekers. Trade and investment are considered of less importance.

As Indonesia is an emerging nation with an economy predicted to dwarf Australia's in coming years, these attitudes could see Australia miss the opportunity to become more engaged with Indonesian businesses.

Already Australian business leaders in Jakarta say the Australian presence there is weaker than it should be and competition from European countries is strong.

When Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited Jakarta after winning office in 2013 he said his priority was to boost business links, noting that great improvement was needed.

This survey suggests Australians still have not woken up to the opportunity and the reality that interesting developments are taking place in Indonesia, and Australia may want to be a part of that.

We had better hurry or we will miss the change.

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