I

am not a physicist by training but I like to relate physics to things I observe. When there are two objects sitting next to each other, they experience force between them.

Newton’s Universal Law of Gravity indicates that the force is “proportional to the product of the two masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance” between them.

In layman’s language, the heavier the objects in question, the stronger the force between them and the closer they are, the stronger the force will be.

This also similarly applies to the case of electric particles: protons and electrons. In this case, the force can be attractive (pulling each other) for same particles or repulsive (pushing each other) for different particles.

It seems that the above physical law also applies to relationships between countries. The intensity of interaction is highly dependent upon distance.

Indonesia and Malaysia are geographically close to each other and they have border issues every now and then. It is not easy to find one single year without a border incident between the two.

On the other hand, Indonesian people might not have heard much about a country named Palau, even though it is also a neighbor of Indonesia.

Distance might be one of the reasons why boundary issues between Indonesia and Palau do not seem to exist. My theory: the force between Indonesia and Palau is not as strong as that between Indonesia and Malaysia.

How about Timor Leste? It is geographically very close to Indonesia but border conflict between the two has not been as attention-grabbing as that between Indonesia and Malaysia. Timor Leste is a small country both geographically and economically.

In other words, Timor Leste is small in mass so that the force between Indonesia and Timor Leste is not as strong as that between Indonesia and Malaysia.

As in the case of electric particles, they can attract each other (constructive) or push each other away (destructive). While people tend to believe that international conflict arises because of differences between parties in question, it is worth questioning how, on the contrary, similarities in character can also be the reason.

As in the case of force between two electric particles, repulsive force occurs between the same particles (proton-proton or electron-electron).

It is intriguing to observe whether or not border conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia would be the same if the two did not have so many similarities.

Indonesia and Malaysia are two independent nations with similar language, ethnicity, arts and religions just to name a few. Due to the fact that many Malaysians are Indonesian descendents (Javanese, Sumatrans, etc.) it should come as no surprise that they still retain the culture (food, dance, crafts, etc.) of their ancestors.

This is similar to a case in Australia. I have a good Australian friend who is a Balinese descendent. Even though he is an Australian, Balinese blood is still in him and he is an active member of the Balinese community in Sydney.

He also performs Balinese dances in Australia during Balinese festival days like Galungan and Kuningan. What did I feel every time I saw this Australian friend performing a Balinese dance? Pride! Did I ever think that an Australian was stealing my very own dance?

Not in a million years.

When it comes to Indonesia-Malaysia relationships, things are different. Cultural manifestation such as dances, fine arts, crafts, puppets, batik can easily be a reason for conflict.

Many people must still remember the controversial issue of the Balinese pendet dance that was allegedly claimed by Malaysia and was included in its tourism promotion material.

It would undoubtedly be unacceptable if the Malaysian people or government officially claimed pendet as theirs but this does not seem to be the case. At least that is what Malaysia officially stated about the issue.

Apart from the uncertainty, I once asked myself, would the reaction of Indonesian people be the same if a photo of a lady performing a pendet dance was put in a Belgian tourism brochure saying “Discover Bali in Belgium”? I doubt the reaction would be the same.

It might be the time to realize that conflict and disputes can arise due to similarities, as opposed to differences.

Proton-proton or electron-electron will push each other away, according to the laws of physics.

Is there anything that we can do to overcome tensions in neighboring relationships? First, we have to settle definitive boundaries. Such boundaries need to be in accordance with the law of the sea and be technically accurate by the application of geospatial processes and technology.

Settling boundaries is not excluding others but, instead, guaranteeing a good relationship. As Robert Frost once said “good fences make good neighbors”.

Second, we might need to focus on differences, instead of similarities. The question can be “what do we have that is different from other countries?” Apart from a lot of similarities between Indonesia and Malaysia, for example, we might need to seriously look at the different capacities the two countries offer.

This can trigger collaboration since collaboration is basically give and take. We can give and take only if we have different things to offer. This article is not, however, a detailed proposal on how to enhance collaboration between countries but a gentle reminder that we can utilize differences in such a way as to strengthen ties.

To sum up, tension between neighboring countries is a manifestation of force between them. In a similar manner, the laws of physics apply in international relations, where mass and distance, in different manifestations, do matter.

I am by no means an expert in physics and do not pretend to be one. We also understand that the laws of physics cannot be exactly applied to international relations.

However, some laws of physics do inspire one to think differently when it comes to international relations.

The writer is a lecturer at the Department of Geodetic Engineering, Gadjah Mada University. He is a PhD candidate focusing on maritime boundary delimitation at the University of Wollongong, Australia. This is his personal opinion.