Indonesia between China and America. The Indo-Pacific chessboard is moving

Indonesian President Widodo is in Beijing for an (unusual) meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Meanwhile, the head of the US armed forces has passed through Jakarta. Indonesia is an example of how US-China dualism has engulfed the international relations of some countries

Secretary of the Communist Party of China, State President Xi JinpingMeet the President of Indonesia in person, Joko Widodo, in Beijing. The face-off is already interesting because Xi – like his China counterpart – has adopted a more stringent security policy against Covid; The “Zero Covid” policy led the country to take extreme precautions and significantly curbed visits and meetings in the presence of the Chinese leader.

And look at the agenda that moved Xi away from hyper-protectionist choices to understand the meaning and weight of reasons that caused him to immediately change his mind. After his last visit to Myanmar in January 2020, he met in February this year. Vladimir Putin On the one hand Beijing is the most guarded opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Russia is very important Junior partner This helps the Chinese anti-Western narrative.

On June 30, Xi went to Hong Kong for the 25th anniversary celebrationDelegating, delegating responsibility English: The city-state has a symbolic value because China has recently experienced pressure on its internal stability from pro-democracy protests that have since been destroyed and settled. For this reason, Beijing wanted to celebrate – on that significant day – a victory in the difficult management of an internal crisis.

If it accords similar treatment to Indonesia, it may gradually relax its somewhat overprotective policy in the future (not only with regard to presidential meetings, but also in the Chinese government’s general management of the pandemic), and why both Jokowi (commonly known as Wido) is a major partner for China.

A key trade link to Beijing, Jakarta is a supplier of ferronickel, copper, coal and natural gas to the world’s second-largest economy. In 2022, Chinese imports from Indonesia increased by 34.2%; The highest rise since Russia, however, increased its sales to China as it waived its oil to overcome isolation by the United States and the European Union after its invasion of Ukraine.

Jokowi The rotating president of the G20: The meeting will be held in Bali, November 15-16, and one of the expected topics will be whether or not Xi will be in person (which could signal a decisive shift in those health security policies). The Indonesian player should play a balanced game. As he himself said after meeting the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, whose goal is to be a “bridge of communication”. In that case he spoke between Moscow and Kiev, but implied broader goals.

The day before that Jokowi Arrived in Beijing, US Joint Chiefs of Staff in Indonesia Mark MilleyHe held a meeting with senior local officials including his representative Antica Percasa. Milli told reporters that Jakarta is “strategically important” to US interests in the Indo-Pacific.

It is clear, and geographical arrangement (and therefore geopolitics) and size (population, 275 thousand people, the largest Muslim country in the world by the number of believers; economy, the sixteenth world economy Jakarta).

Milli – who during the visit condemned the escalation of Chinese militant interference and hostile and dangerous maneuvers against the US and not only in the region – emphasized how his visit helps strengthen the Washington-Jakarta partnership. His work was classic military diplomacy. But Indonesia — like other countries, not just in the Indo-Pacific — is challenged by growing US-China dualism. And many seek reassurance not to crush it.

Jakarta wants to avoid exposure, as evidenced by its military cooperation agreement with Japan, with its decision to avoid stationing US aircraft monitoring the China Sea at its bases. He fears being squeezed between two forces, fearing that too much openness to one will lead to exclusion from activities with the other. Relations between Washington and Beijing are at their lowest since diplomatic ties began in 1979, while it seeks balance as it permeates much of international affairs.