(Transcript from World News Australia Radio)
Indonesia's Foreign Minister has demanded Australia take concrete steps to repair what he says is almost irreparable damage to the bilateral relationship.
The relationship between the two nations has been spiralling downwards after leaked documents showed that in 2009 Australia tapped the personal mobile phones of the Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and eight other ministers.
Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has suggested Indonesia could downgrade the relationship unless there's a proper response from the Australian government over the issue.
Amanda Cavill reports.
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Indonesia is apparently refusing to accept Prime Minister Tony Abbott's statement to Parliament, in which he said Australia should not have to apologise or explain intelligence operations.
The Indonesian Minister for Religions Affairs has now cancelled a planned visit to Melbourne in the wake of reports Australia spied on the Indonesian president.
An Indonesian military spokesman has confirmed that joint Australia-Indonesia sea patrols are at risk as anger escalates over the spying drama.
And a spokesman for the Indonesian Law and Human Rights Ministry has told the Jakarta Post newspaper he is expecting instructions to reduce the level of cooperation with Australia.
Foreign Minister Marty Natalagawa warned earlier this week the relationship between the two countries has been badly damaged, and Australia will have to take the consequences.
"It violates every single decent and legal instrument that I can think of. National in Indonesia, national in Australia, International as well. It is nothing less than an unfriendly act and it has a serious impact on bilateral relations"
Mr Natalagawa is being quoted as saying that Indonesia has already adjusted various forms of cooperation and will be turning off the tap by degrees.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is still refusing to give a comprehensive explanation despite Indonesia's demand for an appropriate response.
The Greens MP Adam Bandt says Mr Abbott is damaging Australia's relationship with Indonesia.
"Tony Abbott has always been an aggressive, hairy chested politician but that's not necessarily what's needed in the field of international relations and we're now entering quite risky territory. The Greens called for Tony Abbott to take a leaf out of President Obama's book because at the moment Tony Abbott seems to be risking everything on the bet that Indonesia won't escalate the situation and take further action."
Mr Abbott has again said he regrets any embarrassment to Mr Yudhoyono, but has not commented on the reports of a possible relationship downgrade.
"I deeply and sincerely regret the embarrassment that media reports have caused to President Yudhoyono, who is a very good friend of Australia, perhaps one of the very best friends that Australia has anywhere in the world. And I do understand how personally hurtful these allegations have been, these reports, have been, for him and his family. I do note that there have been allegations and even admissions in the past on this subject. People didn't overreact then and I certainly don't propose to overreact now."
Australia's former Ambassador to Indonesia from 1997 to 2001 John McCarthy has told the ABC he doesn't think Mr Abbott needs to apologise.
"If you have a policy of neither confirming or denying which is a policy that we and any other governments have adhered to for many years once you apologise you are effectively confirming. And I think, I understand his position on that. You can't do that. But there may be other ways of dealing with the issue short of a straight apology."
Opposition finance spokesman Tony Burke says Labor continues to support the government on issues of national security.
But Mr Burke says there does need to be a resolution to the problem.
"The most important thing is that Tony Abbott doesn't allow this to become a running sore we want to make sure that we can work together, we want to make sure that we work with the government and get this resolved as quickly as possible. It absolutely in Australia's interests for this issue to be resolved."
The Indonesian government has set a deadline of Thursday for an adequate explanation.
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