Only last week Indonesia was left off the list of stopovers when Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin toured Southeast Asia, despite the fact that Indonesia is the biggest force in the region.

 

It is impossible that Biden is unfamiliar with Indonesia. On July 27 the US President warned of the danger of Jakarta sinking within 10 years, so at least he has heard of Indonesia.

 

Two successive snubs by Washington’s top officials are truly an embarrassment for Indonesia, unless Biden has something bigger on his mind, which is almost impossible. Next year Biden is expected to visit Indonesia for the Group of 20 summit, which Indonesia will host.

 

Harris will visit Singapore and Vietnam to boost US political, military and economic ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, the White House announced last Friday. In Singapore and Hanoi, Harris will raise the issues of regional security, climate change and how to contain the coronavirus pandemic with more concrete assistance in the procurement of good quality vaccines.

 

Austin visited Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines to demonstrate Washington’s desire to forge a multilateral front in the fight against a rising China, with which Indonesia is enjoying close bilateral relationship particularly under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

 

Deputy US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is so far the highest ranking US government official under Biden to have visited Indonesia. Sherman’s Jakarta trip was part of her Asian tour in late May and early June.

 

It seems that in his Southeast Asian policy Biden is giving priority to official US ally the Philippines, and countries that are strategically aligned with the US like Vietnam and Singapore. While it appears difficult to understand why Biden has excluded Indonesia, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi’s current trip to the US will shed light on whether Jakarta deserves Washington’s high-level diplomatic attention.

 

It must be acknowledged, however, that Indonesia and the US have maintained a long-lasting partnership in the defense sector, in spite of the arms embargo once slapped on Jakarta over human rights concerns. The Garuda Shield joint exercise involving more than 4,400 Indonesian and US military personnel from Aug. 2 to 15 in South Sumatra, East Kalimantan and North Sulawesi is clear proof of their robust military cooperation.

 

In line with its bebas aktif (free and active) foreign policy doctrine, Indonesia will never build an alliance with any country, including the US but the two countries do have a strategic partnership.

 

Unlike his predecessor Donald Trump who preferred unilateral actions, Biden is drumming up multilateral cooperation to isolate China. Indonesia, however, will never engage in or become a part of such a coalition.

 

Whether the two big snubs reflect the US’ revival of then-president George Bush’s “You are either with us or against us” policy, we can only wait and see and find out what the US leadership wants from Indonesia.