Indonesia spying scandal: SBY says Abbott has agreed to start new relationship

Updated

Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says Prime Minister Tony Abbott has responded to allegations of spying, promising that Australia will never do anything again to disadvantage or hurt relations with Indonesia.

Initially Mr Abbott refused to provide an explanation of documents showing Australia spied on the president, his wife and key ministers in 2009.

But after Indonesia suspended cooperation on things like people smuggling and Mr Yudhoyono wrote to Mr Abbott personally, the Prime Minister responded.

Key points: SBY responds to letter from Tony Abbott

He says cooperation won't resume until Australia signs code of ethics

Code to be negotiated and signed by both leaders

Indonesia to summon Singapore, S Korea foreign ministers over claims they helped with spying

SBY says letter from Abbott promised never to disturb or disadvantage Indonesia

Live export trade still under a cloud with Indonesia saying on Tuesday they're considering cutting imports

Last night Mr Yudhoyono revealed some details of Mr Abbott's letter, saying the Prime Minister had made a promise.

"Australia will never do anything in the future that will bring disadvantage and disturb Indonesia," Mr Yudhoyono said.

Mr Yudhoyono says cooperation on things like people smuggling will not be restarted until the two countries have agreed a set of yet-to-be-written rules of behaviour, and that Mr Abbott has agreed.

Mr Abbott this morning said he wants the issue to be resolved as quickly as possible.

"I want it to be resolved on a strong and lasting basis. That's why I want to reflect for a short period of time on the statement that the president made last night," he said.

Mr Yudhoyono says Mr Abbott has agreed to enter a new bilateral relationship with Indonesia.

"[After] Indonesia has gained back its trust to Australia, and after those codes and protocol have been properly executed, then in my opinion the bilateral cooperation that clearly is mutually beneficial shall continue, including military and police cooperation," he said.

Mr Abbott says "trusted envoys" will sit down and work through some issues.

"As a result of this ongoing dialogue, I want our relationship to be put on an even stronger and better footing in the future than it's been in the past," he said.

Mr Yudhoyono's foreign affairs adviser says it could take a month or two to restart cooperation between the countries.

Indonesia to summon Singapore, S Korea over spying claims

In a surprise move, Mr Yudhoyono also said his foreign minister would summon the ambassadors of Singapore and South Korea over reports their governments had helped Australia with spying.

"The word is they helped Australia and the USA to tap other countries from under the ocean," he said.

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Indonesia demands Australia sign spying code of conduct (ABC News)

"It's not specifically Indonesia, but Asia. On that I've instructed the foreign minister to seek explanations from the ambassadors of those countries."

Former Army chief Peter Leahy hand-delivered the letter from Mr Abbott on Saturday, a move the Government labelled a sign of respect, and a presidential spokesman earlier on Tuesday said the letter was "in accordance to our expectations".

The president's comments are likely to be welcomed by the Abbott Government, which has come under increasing criticism over its handling of the situation.

The diplomatic rift erupted following revelations that in 2009 Australian spies tapped Mr Yudhoyono's phone and the phones of those in his inner circle, including his wife's.

An angry Mr Yudhoyono last week said all military and intelligence cooperation with Australia was on hold until he received a proper explanation.

Scandal hurting trade relations

The issue has also begun to impact on Australian commercial interests in the country.

Indonesia is a major importer of Australian wheat, live cattle and beef, while Australia is Indonesia's 10th largest export market.

On Tuesday Indonesia's trade minister Gita Wirjawan announced his country was considering cutting Australian beef imports in the wake of the revelations.

Last week he asked parliament to start looking at whether legislation can be adjusted to allow Indonesia to import beef from other countries instead of Australia.

Mr Wirjawan, who was relaxed and at times jovial as he spoke to reporters, says the spying issue is an unfortunate issue that has damaged trust.

Likening Australia and Indonesia to a married couple, Mr Wirjawan added that he is not speaking about divorce, and that the relationship can be restored.

Bishop says damage to relationship is obvious

Shortly before Mr Yudhoyono's address last night, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in Sydney the damage was obvious.

"We're working very hard behind the scenes. We're doing a lot to ensure that the relationship will remain one of our most important priorities," she said.

"I'm not going go into detail about the negotiations, the discussions, the letter. I don't think that's helpful. I think quite enough damage has been done as a result of the Snowden leaks. So we are working hard."

Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea's government has called in the Australian High Commissioner to ease concerns over the spying rift between Australia and Indonesia.

High Commissioner Deborah Stokes has attended two government meetings in Port Moresby in the past two weeks.

It is understood PNG foreign minister Rimbink Pato sought assurances that the regional spying row would not be detrimental to relations with PNG.

Topics: defence-and-national-security, security-intelligence, foreign-affairs, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia, indonesia

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