Bishop, Marty To Sign Code Of Conduct

Jakarta, Aug 27 (Antara) - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa and his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop were expected to sign a code of conduct in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday, the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported on Tuesday. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was expected to witness the signing of bilateral intelligence protocol, which will formally end the diplomatic rift caused by allegations that an Australian agency had spied on the Indonesian president, according to the Australian media SMH. Defense, intelligence, and border security cooperation will resume with Indonesia when a joint understanding of a code of conduct was signed off, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was quoted as saying by the SMH on August 19. The Australian media stated that Jakarta was enraged after whistleblower Edward Snowden released documents last November that revealed Australian spies to have tried to tap the phones of the Indonesian president and his wife in 2009 under the Rudd government. Indonesia had recalled its ambassador to Australia, who returned to Canberra in May, and had suspended cooperation in three key areas. Bishop earlier told Fairfax Media on Tuesday that the agreement was a "concise statement of our commitment to respect each other`s sovereignty, pursuant with the Lombok treaty and not to harm each other`s interests," the SMH reported. Asked if the agreement meant Australia will no longer spy on Indonesia, Bishop replied: "This means we will not be using our intelligence resources to harm Indonesia`s interests." "We are working very closely with Indonesia in the intelligence sphere on common security risks, including foreign fighters, so our intelligence communities are in close cooperation," Bishop added.