Australian PM to visit Jakarta on Sept 30

JAKARTA: Tony Abbott is expected to visit Indonesia on Sept. 30 for his first overseas trip since winning the Australian premiership, with boatpeople set to top the agenda, Indonesian officials said Monday.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Abbott planned to visit on that date, ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali.
Teuku Faizasyah, a presidential spokesman on foreign affairs, told AFP: “Details are being finalised for the state visit on September 30.”
Abbott, who swept to victory in an election on Sept. 7, put a pledge to “Stop the Boats” at the centre of his campaign, vowing a crackdown on asylum-seekers arriving by sea which will include towing back vessels to Indonesia where possible.
His plans also include buying up Indonesian fishing boats to keep them out of the hands of people-smugglers, embedding Australian police in villages and paying locals for intelligence.
But Natalegawa has said Jakarta will reject the plans as not in the spirit of partnership between the nations, and that the issue would be a top priority when Abbott visits.
Australia has struggled to manage the stream of asylum seekers arriving on rickety, overloaded fishing boats which are boarded in Indonesia. Hundreds have died on the risky journey in recent years.