How did Indonesia eliminate China and America? | policy

In light of the escalating conflict between China and the United States of America, Indonesia stands as a difficult number in this conflict.

Indonesia is located on the southern edge of the South China Sea, which is the country loaded with resources, with a fast -growing economy with a value of a trillion dollars, and a large number of population, a great prize in the geopolitical battle between Washington and Beijing in Asia, with about 17 thousand islands that extend over thousands of miles of the marine biological passage, which is a defensive necessity in light of the potential conflict of Taiwan.

The first data that we can approach is geography, as China is the closest neighbor of Indonesia in this conflict, as well as the existence of a Chinese community influencing Indonesia, so relations between the two parties represent relationships near and neighborhood.

From here, China realizes the vital importance of Indonesia for it. The title of cooperation between the two parties is now artificial intelligence and renewable energy, as China has provided significant investments, especially in developing the exploitation of nickel deposits, as it was a partner in paying the infrastructure, so it established a high -speed train between Jakarta and Bandung.

Economic interconnection is the power that leads the relations between the two parties, as the trade exchange between them reached 139.42 billion dollars, for a period of 11 consecutive years, China was the largest commercial partner for Indonesia, but rather they are growing relationships.

From that, for example, in 2023, Indonesia visited more than 790,000 Chinese tourists, exploring volcanoes, carrots and seafood, while in the first half of 2024 he visited about 570,000 tourists, making China one of the most important countries supplied to tourism to Indonesia.

The Indonesian dependence on China is increasing. In the field of biological agriculture in 2024, the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture and the Chinese National Rice Research Institute launched a partnership aimed at promoting rice production to ensure food security in Indonesia, this cooperation depends on modern agriculture technologies.

On the other hand, China has expanded its presence in the electric car sector in Indonesia, where it created factories that are in line with sustainable transportation solutions.

But on the other side of relationships, commercial tensions are increasing in a number of sectors, such as ceramic and textiles.

Chinese ceramics immerse the Indonesian market at much lower prices than the local product price, until the Indonesian Ministry of Commerce was forced to destroy millions of illegal Chinese commodities, and imposed customs definitions ranging between 100% and 200% on some Chinese imports, especially since a number of Indonesian textile factories were closed in light of the dumping of Chinese fabric Indonesia, and it is feared of the Chinese reaction against These procedures.

China realized two important dimensions in the relationship:

• The first dimension is the media, China has expanded its media communication in Indonesia, through forums, such as China-Indonesian Media Forum, whose last session was held in Beijing in early September 2024.
• The second dimension is security coordination, Which officials from both sides laid the foundations for cooperation in 2024, they focused on fighting terrorism, with the exchange of intelligence and cyber security. The South China Sea is still a complex and sensitive issue in the Indonesian-Chinese relations. The pure economic zone of Indonesia in the Natona Sea interferes with China’s vast demands, making Indonesia an important player in regional maritime security.

A major development occurred in November 2024, during the visit of Indonesian President Prabu Sobanto to Beijing, when Indonesia and China issued a joint statement committed to development in the disputed region in the South China Sea, especially about the Natona Islands.

Relations between the two countries are not new. Indonesia was the first country in the Association of Southeast Asian countries (ASEAN) to establish diplomatic relations with China after the People’s Republic of China declared in October 1949, but these relations were suspended after the military coup in 1965, but it witnessed a revival in recent decades, and deepened after Indonesia joined the BRICS group in 2024.

Relations with America

The Indonesian-American relations began in 1949, and it had 75 years in 2024, so in Washington, the second dialogue was held on peace, prosperity and security between the two parties. The parties to the dialogue were the center of strategic and international studies in Jakarta and the United States Peace Institute.

Participants in the dialogue realized that relations are still largely in depth. Indonesia does not approach the United States’ horizon except whenever the issue of religious intolerance, terrorist attack, or when China opens new investments in the country, etc.

The United States continued its concrete support for Indonesia to build its defensive capabilities, as well as the joint training that has now become multilateral, such as “Super Garuda” shield training and support for the Indonesian Coast Guard.

But US President Trump’s policies may lead to the regional security burden of the South China Sea (free navigation) on Indonesia, which makes it regional actor.

On the other hand, Indonesia has refrained from buying F-15 aircraft, and purchased 42 Rafale aircraft from France, while the Indonesian army relies on Russian and Western armament, and its dealings with Chinese weapons are still limited, but this may change if China entered military manufacturing programs with Indonesia.

On the commercial level, the United States exported $ 11 billion goods to Indonesia in 2023, while Indonesian exports to the US market reached 27.9 billion dollars, reflecting the superiority of the trade balance in favor of Jakarta.

However, although the relationship between the two countries has been promoted to the level of “comprehensive strategic partnership”, this partnership remains more symbolic than being practical, since Indonesia prefers not to align international conflicts.

In light of this scene, Jakarta appears to be keen not to anger Beijing, and at the same time trying to maintain its relations with the United States, while Washington is sufficient for itself and adopts a purely pragmatic approach in the region.

But the real challenge faced by the United States is that most of the countries of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, do not prefer to engage in any war, because military conflicts may overthrow the economic achievements achieved by these countries, which Washington has not realized seriously so far.