Indonesia and Malaysia President Sukarno was against the formation of Malaysia in 1963, claiming that much of the land and Islands being incorporated into Malaysia was actually supposed to be Indonesian. Indonesia declared its policy of konfrontasi (confrontation), which was close to a declaration of war.

Malaysia The Breaking up of Malaysia and Indonesia is clearly shown in proximity on this map

President Sukarno had members of the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) in his administration, which combined with threats to Malaysia, made Australia nervous. Australia once again thought that the borders between Indonesia and Australia were too close, and purchased F1-11 fighter aircrafts from the USA. By assisting Malaysia to resist Indonesia, Australia was protecting itself against Indonesian expansion and therefore power.

Communism In the wake of World War Two, the situations of communist power in Europe and throughout Asia instilled a fear of communist neighbours in Australia. For more information on this fear, a broader historical picture of the events of the communist movements in the 20th century would be necessary.

The fear of communism coming from President Sukarno’s administration, combined with fears of communist expansion from China and North Vietnam enticed Prime Minister Robert Menzies to introduce conscription President Sukarno

Sukarno to Suharto. Sukarno’s presidential reign ended in 1965 and was succeeded in 1967 by General Suharto. Suharto’s regime was a ruthless military dictatorship, however, it did not make any attempts or claims at territory expansion.

Less of a threat With the imposition of a new “stable” government in Indonesia, Australia began to turn its attentions towards Vietnam, and the communist regime expanding there. Various demonstrations of trust were made to Indonesia, including financial aid, and in the early 1970s even some armed patrol boats and fighter jets.

Timor “The East Timor Dispute” (1974-76) East Timor (formerly Portuguese Timor) was annexed by (taken over by) Indonesia. Dictionary Definition of ANNEXED: To append or attach, especially to a larger or more significant thing. To incorporate (territory) into an existing political unit such as a country, state, county, or city. To add or attach, as an attribute, condition, or consequence.

With Portugal virtually abandoning its former colony (Portugal is no longer a major power), several political factions emerged, with different policies about what should happen to the governing of the country. Civil war broke out in 1975 with the Fretelin group of policies claiming independence as the “Democratic Republic of East Timor”. This group was essentially communist.

However, another group, the Apodeti had decided to get Indonesian assistance with their political movement. This meant that they were assisted by Indonesian forces. The result was in the wake of the confused fighting, Indonesian troops had control of the whole island. Indonesia declared East Timor officially annexed in 1976. This claim was made to the United Nations.

Australia, after much anxiety, accepted that East Timor was part of Indonesia. This anxiety was influenced mostly by the acceptance of Indonesia gaining control of an island only 600km from Darwin.

The Whitlams, 400 miles from Darwin We pay to shed a sombre tear together in the darkness here One among the hundreds, crying for the millions And when the house lights break the trance Only then unclasp our hands Compose ourselves and fix our hair "We would have all been Schindler there" Drive in silence slowly home Now horror's more than skin and bone

And can you see in twenty years We'll pay to shed the same cheap tears In a film about an island, watch our hero take a stand Pay our money gladly to wash our hands Watching the movie we'll ask how the people might have known Let it happen there without a fight Kept driving on quietly home Left the Timorese alone - 400 miles from Darwin

The two-minute hate is now the three-hour love With any action left to God above The Germans then they could could turn their heads Now Indonesians and us we sleep instead While 400 miles from Darwin East Timor is dying Watching the movie we'll ask how the people might have known Let it happen there without a fight Kept driving on quietly home Left the Timorese alone - 400 miles from Darwin

East Timor It is claimed that Indonesian occupation of East Timor was marked by brutality and violence. The East Timorese guerrilla force, Falintil, fought a campaign against the Indonesian forces from 1975 to 1999.

“Independence” In 1999, the UN supervised a referendum in East Timor to choose between Special Autonomy within Indonesia and independence. 78.5% of voters chose independence, however soon after fighting broke with pro- Indonesian militias. It was not until September 2002 that East Timor joined the UN as an independent country.

Religion Indonesia is largely a Muslim country (worshipers of Islam) Other major religions are Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism and Christianity Since 2002 a number of Islamist-inspired terrorist attacks in Indonesia have been directed at Western interests including the Australian embassy in Jakarta and the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, which killed a total of 92 Australian nationals. Indonesian diplomatic and consular premises in Australia received a number of hoax and threat messages in 2005. Both the United States and Australian governments have issued warnings against travel to Indonesia, advising their citizens of a continued risk of attacks.