The past months have seen a flaring up of instability along our northern border with a concert of political tensions, security threats and humanitarian situations that have been coined the "arc of instability".
In East Timor an estimated 100,000 people are said to be displaced because of the violence which has brought a 2500-strong peacekeeping force from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Portugal to the capital city of Dili.
Nearly seven years ago, East Timorese voted for self-rule in a UN-run ballot, triggering a wave of deadly attacks by pro-Indonesia militias.
Australia led an intervention force to restore order then and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer warned of the need for an exit strategy.
"If you send in a force and you withdraw and there isn't political stability in place, then clearly you will go right back to where you began," Mr Downer said in January 2000.
Unhappily, he was proved correct.
Leading the current peacekeeping force are 2000 Australian defence personal (joined by the Australian Federal Police).
Australia's Defence Minister Dr Brendan Nelson stated last week that Australia will not interfere with the struggling nation's political problems, but will help provide a secure environment in which the political problems can be resolved. He said that Australia is committed to East Timor in the long term and Australian troops could be there for 12 months.
However, Jane's Information Group said East Timor's combination of violence, a weak economy and a fledgling democracy means it will struggle to function on its own for years, even decades.
"The implication is that other states, particularly Australia, with its interventionist Pacific policy, will need to maintain a security presence in the country for at least this amount of time or on standby to prevent East Timor descending into anarchy," it said in a report.
Meanwhile, the Australian military deployment to restore peace in the troubled Solomon Islands began to be scaled down last month and will leave behind a force of about 140 soldiers.
Australia now has its military in six countries, more than at any time since World War II. On top of regional responsibilities there, Aussie troops are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting the "War on Terror". Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has denied suggestions that the Australian military are "stretched to breaking point".
Meanwhile, Indonesia, the former ruler of East Timor, over the past few years has had its fair share of natural disasters, terrorist attacks targeting Westerners, including Australians, civil conflict and unrest, including fleeing Papuan separatists seeking asylum in Australia.
Prime Minister John Howard met a parliamentary delegation from Indonesia on Tuesday afternoon, as Australia continues its efforts to repair relations with its near neighbour.
Relations between the two countries plunged to their lowest point since the East Timor crisis in 1999 after Australia granted temporary protection visas to 42 Papuan boat people earlier this year.
Indonesia withdrew its ambassador in protest – who returned at the weekend – and relations only began to improve when Australia promised to amend its refugee policy to process all illegal asylum seekers offshore.
Mr Howard believes the relationship between Australia and Indonesia will always be a difficult one.
"The relationship between Australia and Indonesia's very important, it's also a difficult relationship and there'll be difficulties about it in the future," he said.
Indonesian ambassador Hamzah Thayeb said Indonesia would do its best to get relations back on track.
"Our geographical proximity dictates us to work together and we will try to work together with the executive, the legislative, together we'll both move forward," he told ABC radio.
With AAP, AP and Reuters
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