REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DARWIN -- Former Indonesia president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says he wants to see closer Indonesian-Australian ties in order to foster stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

In delivering a keynote address at the Northern Australia Defence Summit in Darwin, the former president said there had never been a more important time for ASEAN countries to bind together, and that Australia and Indonesia should lead the way.

"Both countries face a geopolitical environment that's become more fluid and even volatile in recent years," Mr Yudhoyono said.

He expressed concerns for the "declining state of relations amongst the major powers", and said he believed the world was heading towards a state of "geopolitical depressions".

"Strategic trust is in steep decline, rivalries are returning, and brinkmanship has become an option; there is much unpredictability and more volatility in global politics," Mr Yudhoyono said.

"Indonesia and Australia can work together to ensure a dynamic equilibrium in the region, where partnerships will not lead to new conflicts, greater tensions, and the return of the harmful divisions of the Cold War era."

Trump must engage in Asia 'with or without' policy

The former Indonesian leader used his address to criticise Donald Trump's administration in the United States over its approach to the region.

"President Trump is yet to articulate his administration's Asia policy," Mr Yudhoyono said.

"But given his preoccupation with China, with US trade deficit, with the South China Sea, President Trump will necessarily have to actively engage East Asian countries and AESEAN, with or without a policy doctrine."

In response to the uncertainty, Mr Yudhoyono has urged AESEAN countries to adopt an "AESEAN-first" position — much like President Trump's "US-first" stance — to prevent the alliance from deteriorating.

Mr Yudhoyono's comments come at a time when Darwin's skies are the stage for a joint exercise between Indonesia and Australia's air forces.

The exercise is the latest in a string of joint military events held in the Northern Territory and north Queensland.

The rise of bilateral initiatives between Australia and its neighbours was pegged at the summit as an example of the importance of Darwin's position in the Asia-Pacific region.

"How is it that we haven't seen this for a long time?" said Professor John Blaxand, a strategic and defence expert at the Australian National University's South-East Asia Institute.

"Darwin is the gateway to a dynamic region."

Collaboration is the way of the future: defence expert

The relationship between Australia and the US in Darwin is being strengthened with the number of US Marines set to double to 2,500 by 2020.

Meanwhile, Singapore's presence in north Queensland is set to increase, with its troop numbers planned to grow from 6,000 to 14,000.

Both countries have invested about $2 billion each in northern Australia.

It is the type of cooperation that Mr Yudhoyono would like to see grow between Australia and Indonesia.

Professor Blaxland said it was not just possible, but essential.

"There's enormous scope for increased collaboration between Australian and Indonesia, we're seeing that in Darwin today with the exercise between the Indonesian Airforce and the Royal Australia Airforce," he said.

"Demonstrating the utility of collaboration, of cross-pollination and getting to know each other; that, I think, is the way of the future."

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