Denpasar: Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at the Morrison government's decision to consider moving the Australian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, warning of a “very negative reaction” in Australia’s near neighbour and a risk to the national interest.
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And Mr Turnbull, following a half-hour meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali, also expressed confidence that the Indonesia-Australia free trade agreement would be signed in a matter of weeks, despite the diplomatic brouhaha.
In a rebuke of Mr Morrison’s proposal, which was floated during the Wentworth byelection, Mr Turnbull pointedly distanced himself from the idea.
“The conclusion that I took, and my government took, after very careful and considered advice was that a policy that is well over 40 years old, 50 years old, should remain exactly the same as it is,” he said.
“The President expressed to me, as he has done to Prime Minister Morrison, the very serious concern held in Indonesia about the prospect of the Australian embassy in Israel being moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“There is no question, were that move to occur, it would be met with a very negative reaction in Indonesia. This is after all the largest Muslim-majority country in the world. We have to be very clear-eyed about that, and we have to take into account Australia’s national interests, and our interests in the region, when we consider a decision like this.”
In his meeting with Mr Joko, known as Jokowi, Mr Turnbull stressed that no final decision on the embassy move had been taken.
“He [Mr Morrison] is considering it, will be taking on advice, and I passed onto President Jokowi his reassurance on that matter, that no decision has been taken,” he said.
Mr Turnbull also predicted the Indonesia-Australia free trade agreement would be signed within a couple of weeks, following his meeting with Mr Joko.
“I am confident it will be signed in a couple of weeks, I have no reason to believe it won’t [be]. Of course it then has to be ratified through the Indonesian parliamentary system, in the normal way,” he said.
Mr Turnbull also heaped praise on the “dynamic, charismatic” Mr Joko following the “very warm meeting”, and stressed the importance of the Indonesia-Australia relationship.
Mr Turnbull landed in Bali late on Sunday evening, at the request of Mr Morrison, to lead an Australian delegation attending a global conference on how to protect and preserve the world’s oceans.
The former prime minister is a close friend of Mr Joko, and his trip comes less than two weeks after Mr Morrison flagged Australia could move its embassy.
The shock proposal prompted an angry response from Indonesia, Malaysia and numerous Arab states because of the perceived snub to the Palestinian cause.
Several senior Indonesian government ministers have publicly dismissed the idea that the free trade deal could be in doubt following the Morrison government floating the proposal.
Mr Turnbull’s attendance at the summit has been met with an angry reaction from the conservative wing of the Coalition government and his pointed comments about the embassy proposal will do nothing to calm critics in the conservative wing of the Coalition.
The Jerusalem proposal was described as a slap to Indonesia’s face by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, according to leaked messages she sent to Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne. Those messages highlighted the depth of disquiet within Indonesia and the risk to diplomatic relations.
Senate estimates last week revealed that not one official from the Australian departments of Foreign Affairs, Defence or Prime Minister and Cabinet was consulted before the Morrison government announced its decision to review the status of the Australian embassy in Israel, and support for the Iran nuclear deal.
