Withdrawing Australian Ambassador to Indonesia wrong move: Bob Carr

Former Australian foreign affairs minister Bob Carr has opined that the decision to recall the Australian ambassador to Indonesia following the execution of Bali Nine duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran was a bad move.

Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday afternoon, Carr said Australia relied on Indonesian cooperation in the areas of immigration, cattle trade, counterterrorism operations, and Australian investment.

With an absent ambassador in Indonesia, Australians could potentially be at greater risk in the country, he pointed out while raising the awkward question of when the ambassador would be sent back.

"Cooperation with Indonesia is hugely in Australias interest. To pluck our ambassador out of Jakarta means we simply havent got the clout and our whole agenda could slip away," he noted.

"Unless we have cooperation in counterterrorism operations running at its optimal level, the lives of Australians in Bali are at greater risk," Carr stated.

In addition, the former foreign affairs minister stressed that the presence of the Australian consular in Jakarta was larger than that anywhere else in the world.

Carr also took issue with the idea that Australia may cut its aid budget to Indonesia in retaliation for the execution of the Bali Nine duo.

He cautioned that cutting the aid would be "catastrophic."

"We give aid to Indonesia not only because it is the right thing to do but because it is in our interest. Cutting aid is something we should rule out. It is such a dumb thing to do. I thought we were an intelligent and a compassionate country," he remarked.

Furthermore, Aaron Connolly, a research fellow in the East Asia Program at the Law Institute, agreed with Carr that the decision to recall the ambassador to Canberra was wrong.

"It is going to be very difficult to avoid a spiraling diplomatic tit-for-tat," Connolly told ABC radio.

Source: ANTARA