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That’s not a fair characterization. Indonesia has suffered at the hands of two empires, first the Dutch then the Japanese. It is not an expansionist power or a
by zarzavat 3y ago
That’s not a fair characterization. Indonesia has suffered at the hands of two empires, first the Dutch then the Japanese. It is not an expansionist power or a threat to Australia any more than New Zealand is. Just because people look different or have different beliefs doesn’t make them threats, that’s a primitive form of thinking that humanity ought to move away from.
- dkjaudyeqooe 3y agoBeyond the population and proximity, I'm not characterising anything. You're reading in a lot into my comment. But in Australian politics, Indonesia as a potential, albeit very unlikely, threat has been discussed, with the point being that 275 million people in a somewhat politically unstable country has that potential. It's only in this century that Indonesia has become a functioning democracy and has had authoritarian and sometimes brutal leaders, slaughtering hundreds of thousands, in the not so distant past. It currently has relatively good relations with Australia but they are not close or secure. No one is accusing them of anything but there is a non-zero chance of them becoming a threat.
- dirtyid 3y agoFrom 1980s-2010s, AU military training opfor was the "Musorian Armed Forces" aka Indonesia. ID recent military presentation on ballistic missiles also highlighted AU as potential target (and Singpore, Philiphines, SCS). Reality is ID defense will modernize with time threat perception is correlated to capabilities.