The Wire

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has travelled to Indonesia, a country whose involvement in regional asylum seeker policy has put it at the centre of domestic political debate. Mr Rudd is looking for a joint solution to the influx of asylum seeker boats arriving on Australian shores – while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is still promising to turn the boats around and return them to Indonesia, should he be elected. But what does all of this rhetoric do for Australia’s relationship with Indonesia? Some academics describe it as ‘megaphone diplomacy’, and it could be the biggest threat to regional stability in the near future.