SURABAYA: Australia’s foreign minister visited on Sunday the site of a bombing attack in Indonesia’s second-biggest city of Surabaya and vowed to intensify the two countries “very close counter-terrorism” partnership.
Suicide bombing attacks on three churches in Surabaya killed 18 people in May, the worst militant attacks the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country had seen in more than a decade.
“We will continue to work closely with Indonesia in countering terrorism and sharing information and intelligence,” Julie Bishop told reporters from the police station where a family of Islamist militants – including an eight-year-old childb – carried out a suicide bomb attack.
“We must not be defeated by terrorism and must work together as two close communities. Australia supports Indonesia in its aims to be a multi-cultural, multi-faith society,” the diplomat said, after offering her condolences to the families of those killed.
