Australia and Indonesia are tied together by geography — but how well do we really understand each other? Despite being close neighbours, relations between Canberra and Jakarta are often uneasy, marked by cooperation, competition, and occasional mistrust.

In this episode of The Focus, Dr. Gatra Priyandita (Australian Strategic Policy Institute) joins Dr. John Bruni to unpack one of the most important — yet least understood — relationships in our region. From trade, migration, and defence, to cultural ties and political tensions

Show Notes:

Contact Gatra

X: @GPriyandita

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gatra-priyandita/

ASPI: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/dr-gatra-priyandita/

Gatra’s Publications

1. Priyandita,Silence as strategy: Southeast Asia and China’s persistent cyber campaigns, ASPI, Canberra, 01/09/2025.
2. Hogeveen, G. Priyandita & J. Corera, Curbing the cost of cybersecurity fragmentation: an agenda for harmonisation across the Indo-Pacific, ASPI, Canberra, 28/08/2025.

(eds.) J. Corera & M. Opatha, Hyperscale cloud and shared security in the Indo-Pacific: Views from The Strategist, ASPI, Canberra, 26/08/2025.

1. Graham & G. Priyandita, Australia and Indonesia can deepen security cooperation by fighting hybrid threats, The Strategist, ASPI, Canberra, 05/08/2025.

👉🏻 E. Graham & G. Priyandita, Australia-Indonesia defence and security partnership: Overcoming asymmetric aspirations to tackle common threats, ASPI, Canberra, 05/08/2025. The article upon which much of this episode is based.

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