"I had urged the military commander and defense minister to address the issue. Meanwhile, I think our relations with Australia have remained good," Widodo noted.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The bilateral relations between Indonesia and Australia have remained healthy amid the issue of an individual from the Australian military allegedly insulting the countrys national ideology of Pancasila, President Joko Widodo stated.
"I had urged the military commander and defense minister to address the issue. Meanwhile, I think our relations with Australia have remained good," Widodo noted here on Thursday.
The president emphasized that the militaries of both countries should present a clarification on the incident in order to maintain mutually beneficial bilateral ties.
On the occasion, the head of state also confirmed that he had been informed about the discontinuation of military cooperation between the two nations.
"Indonesia and Australia have made a deal to respect and not interfere in each others national affairs," Widodo affirmed.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo remarked that Chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Air Chief Marshal Mark Donald Binskin AC had sent him a letter of apology.
In his letter, Binskin pledged to run an investigation over the contempt case.
In his reply, Nurmantyo praised Binskin and sought to hold further discussions after the Australian military had received the result of the investigation.
Earlier, the TNI had decided to stop all forms of military cooperation with the ADF in light of the contempt case.
In its argument, the TNI revealed that there were technical issues that had to be tackled and resolved in order to improve the working relationship between the two forces. After the review process was completed, the TNI would consider continuing its military cooperation with Australia.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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