Australia is willing to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses in West Papua because alienating Indonesia is not worth the risk as China jostles for regional influence
After 15 years of overspending, and its oil-base sovereign wealth fund running dry, Timor-Leste’s economy is expected to run out of money in about a decade. Australia’s small neighbour is now looking for any new friends that might assist with a soft economic landing.
Timor-Leste also sees its strategic security being enhanced by having several powerful friends, rather than being dominated by one or two countries. China ticks a few important boxes. Australia regards China’s diplomatic, economic and strategic reach in the region with considerable discomfort and some alarm. This has caused reflection on how Australia has taken for granted and sometimes abused regional relationships. After a couple of decades of trashing many of them, Australia is now playing diplomatic catch-up.
Part of this catch-up is for Australia to not further alienate countries it wishes to have as friends and strategic partners. Hence Australia is reluctant to question, much less criticise, Indonesia on human rights grounds. The longsuffering people of West Papua, marginalised and abused in their own land, are therefore being sacrificed on the altar ofDamien Kingsbury is an emeritus professor at Deakin University and has published widely on regional political and security issues
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