sheridan has been a staunch supporter of closer ties between australia and its southeast asian neighbours, particularly singapore and indonesia. in his book "hidden agendas", journalist john pilger accuses him of being a "reliable ally" of the suharto dictatorship while serving as the foreign editor of "the australian". in particular, pilger derided sheridan's defense of indonesia following the clinton administration's critique of suharto's human rights records, as well as the australian parliament's foreign affairs committee following its confirmation of the santa cruz massacre. sheridan stated that "even genuine victims frequently concoct stories".