Jakarta. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterated his view that Indonesia is Canberra’s most important partner, as Southeast Asia’s biggest economy celebrates its 81st year of independence amid earthquake woes.

Albanese gave a shout-out to Indonesia in a parliamentary meeting on Monday. He started by offering condolences over the 7.7-magnitude quake that recently rocked Flores and killed at least 53 people, saying that Australia “stands with” Indonesia, like it has “always done and will do”. He switched to the close neighbor’s big day, adding that Australia was among the first foreign nations to recognize Indonesia’s independence.

“As of today, Australia’s peace, security, and stability are dependent on the security of our region and, in turn, on a united, stable, and sovereign Indonesia,” Albanese said. 

“To us, no relationship is more important,” he explained, citing that this was why he picked Jakarta as his first overseas stop after his 2022 rise to power and the 2025 re-election.

The Jakarta Treaty, which commits both nations to joint consultations if either country is threatened, was also a major theme in his comment. Albanese had signed the document in February when “friend” President Prabowo Subianto hosted him in Jakarta. This security agreement also drew inspiration from an old bilateral security pact: the 2006 Lombok Treaty.

“That treaty makes clear that the best way to secure the peace and stability of our region is by acting together. It reaffirms the force of the 2006 Lombok Treaty that Australia unwaveringly respects Indonesia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Albanese remarked.

“This is a bipartisan position across this parliament.”

Bilateral ties have had their ups and downs over the past decades. In 2005, a coordinated terrorist attack in Bali killed 4 Australians. About ten years later, Indonesia's execution of two Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who were part of the Bali Nine heroin smuggling plot, had ruffled Canberra’s feathers.

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