Antara reports that Australian and Indonesian governments have agreed to undertake defence cooperation after the countries’ ministers for defence Juwono Sudarsono and Joel Fitzgibbon held a meeting on the 18th September.

The agreement has covered cooperation in military industry, given only 30% of Indonesia’s military equipment is sourced domestically, as well as maritime security issues.

Fitzgibbon is paraphrased in Antara:

[Fitzgibbon]  said the Asia Pacific region is very important for Australia considering that its security was no longer a regional matter but has become a global issue in line with increasing population and economic growth in the region.

Thats an interesting point – I wonder how Australia ought to go about managing this as a global issue rather than a regional security matter?  Does this mean greater efforts on Australia’s part for multilateral cooperation in the Asia Pacific?  I agree there are factors influencing and being influenced throughout the international system concerning Australian maritime security, but surely a regional focus (in terms of maritime security at least) is of considerable importance to begin with?  I guess what I’m saying is, should one focus most resources on a narrow spectrum of issues or risk spreading them thin in addressing as much as possible?