Distinct elements of Indonesia's Indo-Pacific framework

Klaus Heinrich Raditio
Researching China’s recent behavior and strategy in the South China Sea for his PhD at the University of Sydney

PREMIUM

Jakarta / Mon, March 5, 2018 / 09:49 am

Distinct elements of Indonesia's Indo-Pacific framework

Serious: Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi listens during the ASEAN-New Zealand ministerial meeting, part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional security forum in suburban Manila on August 6, 2017. (AFP/Romeo Ranoco)

Recently, Jakarta has been very enthusiastic about the Indo-Pacific axiom. The President has mentioned it several times, his ministers have articulated it on many occasions and scholars have discussed it extensively. Nonetheless, there is no clarity, let alone an authoritative interpretation on the concept. There is a danger that Indonesia’s Indo-Pacific framework stays exclusive for the elites. Here, I’ll offer a perspective regarding Indonesia’s Indo-Pacific framework to demonstrate several elements in Indonesia’s Indo-Pacific framework that make it understandable and relevant. First, Indonesia’s Indo-Pacific framework does not correspond to that of former United States president Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia” or India’s “Look East Policy” or China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, let alone Trump&...