It is often said that no country is more important to Australia than Indonesia. Yet the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran is just the latest in a long line of crises that have marred relations between Canberra and Jakarta. 
Australian governments have been criticised for not doing more to strengthen ties with Indonesia, and even squandering opportunities to improve relations. In this penetrating analysis, Ken Ward argues that Australian governments and their critics need to be realistic about an Australia–Indonesia relationship that risks always being crisis-prone and volatile.