Last June, then prime minister Kevin Rudd warned that an Abbott government risked conflict with Indonesia over its turn back the boats policy. Asked to clarify whether he was referring to armed conflict, he replied: What Im talking about is diplomatic conflict, but Im always wary about where diplomatic conflicts go. Konfrontasi with Indonesia evolved over a set of words and turned into something else. He then said (ABC news, June 28): Youve got to ask this question; so what happens on day one when field marshal Tony puts out the order to the captain of the Australian naval frigate X to turn back a bunch of boats? And youve got a naval frigate from the Indonesian navy on the other side of the equation. Predictably, he was excoriated by the usual suspects. Julie Bishop gave full vent to her range of adjectives, condemning ridiculous, absurd, alarmist claim that the Coalition would trigger a conflict. The Indonesian governments response to our unqualified apology for breaching Indonesian sovereignty has been to send a frigate to protect its southern borders. I am not fluent in the language of diplomacy, but I am fairly sure that this is not the action of a mollified government. What word best describes it? Belligerent? Confrontational? James McArdle Sanctuary Point Read more: smh.au/comment/smh-letters/respect-both-ways-not-confrontation-needed-for-solution-20140120-314u6.html#ixzz2qyGYXOmY
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 20:10:29 +0000
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