Indonesia in Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper

This comment examines how Australia assesses Indonesia’s strategic value and the nature of the bilateral relationship by comparing the 2016 Defence White Paper (DWP2016) with its 2013 and 2009 predecessors. As a whole, DWP2016 mentioned or referenced Indonesia twenty-eight times, while the 2013 and 2009 White Papers did so thirty-two and twenty-one times, respectively. Seen through this simplistic benchmark, there seems to be no significant changes in how Canberra sees Jakarta. Upon closer examination, however, we can discern the subtle evolution of Canberra’s assessments.