SYDNEY -- Staying or going, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid can number at least one advance during his troubled term in Jakarta. He has earned the awe, even respect, of often-critical neighbor Australia.

His stopover in Canberra and Sydney last week, the first visit by an Indonesian leader in over a quarter of a century, marked a new appreciation, if not exactly a new chumminess, in relations between the Southeast Asian nations.

The pity is the warming-up process between Canberra and Jakarta may not last long. Wahid is due to face impeachment hearings Aug. 1.