Indonesia’s Minister of Defense and President-elect, Prabowo Subianto, has begun his international visits by meeting with several global leaders.
Recently, Prabowo visited Russia after traveling to several Asian and European countries, including China, Japan, France, Serbia, and Turkey. These visits are part of Prabowo’s efforts to strengthen Indonesia’s strategic position on the international stage by establishing global relations.
Dr. Dafri Agus Salim, an international relations policy analyst from the UGM Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol UGM), mentioned that these visits suggest a possible shift in Indonesia’s foreign policy orientation.
“This visit seems to signal or indicate that our political orientation might be shifting slightly. Previously, it was somewhat West-oriented, but now we might be leaning more towards the East. In this context, it refers to countries that are not always on friendly terms with Western countries, especially the United States,” Dr. Salim explained in his statement to reporters on Wednesday (Aug. 7) at the UGM campus.
From the list of countries visited, Dr. Salim noted that Prabowo did not visit Western countries. Instead, he has shown a desire to establish cooperation with Eastern countries like Turkey, China, and Russia, which have significant potential in Indonesia’s future economic and trade relations.
This visit also indicates that Prabowo wants Indonesia to appear internationally capable of rallying Eastern power.
Furthermore, Dr. Salim also suggested that Prabowo’s visits aim to explore new avenues for Indonesia’s economic and trade cooperation beyond Western countries.
Regarding Prabowo’s visits to China and Russia, he believes they could significantly impact Indonesia’s foreign relations with the United States, whose political values are often at odds with those of these countries.
Indonesia’s strategy of approaching China, Russia, and Turkey is intended to increase its bargaining power against Western countries, which is often perceived as pressuring and neglecting Indonesia’s interests.
Dr. Salim explained that by strengthening its bargaining power, Indonesia could gain greater access to realizing its interests. Additionally, this shift could affect Indonesia’s access to aid from Western countries or international organizations, which might weaken. On the other hand, Indonesia might expect assistance from other countries.
“I believe there are two objectives: to increase bargaining power to gain greater access in areas such as security, including arms purchases, political support, etc. This is part of Prabowo’s strategy to open up broader markets through economic cooperation beyond the mainstream Western countries,” Dr. Salim elaborated.
According to him, this shift in orientation is influenced by Indonesia’s domestic political dynamics.
“Perhaps the reason we are now very close to China, whereas Prabowo previously appeared to be anti-China in his speeches, is influenced by internal political forces, including business interests,” Dr. Salim explained.
This shift in foreign policy orientation suggests that Indonesia has yet to fully practice a purely independent and active foreign policy as initially conceptualized.
“During the Sukarno era, we were very close to the East, but in the Suharto era, we were close to the West. It cannot be said to be independent and active; it’s more pragmatic. We no longer care whether it’s the West or the East; if it’s beneficial, they become our friends. So, it’s not the independent and active policy as originally conceptualized. I see that even under Prabowo, it will not be purely independent and active,” he concluded.
Author: Rahma
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Photo: Kremlin RU
Post-editor: Afif