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Prabowo, Ganjar to retain foreign policy status quo as Anies seeks shift
The presidential candidate camps do not see eye to eye on Indonesia’s stance on geopolitical tension, particularly regarding the strategic rivalry between the United States and China.
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Presidential candidates along with their running mates (left to right) Ganjar Pranowo, Mahfud MD, Prabowo Subianto, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar pose for a group photo on Jan. 17, 2024, after delivering their anticorruption mission statements during an event held by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in Jakarta. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
The campaign teams gearing up for next month’s presidential elections do not see eye to eye on Indonesia’s stance on geopolitical tension, particularly regarding the strategic rivalry between the United States and China.
While the Anies Baswedan camp is looking for a shift away from Indonesia’s neutral stance, the teams of Prabowo Subianto and Ganjar Pranowo plan to retain the country’s foreign policy status quo of non-alignment.
Representing Anies in an event staged by Bloomberg on Tuesday, Thomas Lembong claimed the government pursued a “narrow interest” by putting investment and trade on a foreign policy pedestal.
“Our opinion is that this makes other countries not respect us, because we are inconsistent. Whenever we face threats in investment or trade, we back away, immediately become wishy-washy,” Thomas told reporters at the event held at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Central Jakarta.
The cocaptain of Anies’s campaign went on to say that “history and facts” show us that respect could lead to investment that in turn could help Indonesia become a part of global supply chains.
Its title of Southeast Asia’s largest economy notwithstanding, the archipelago remains somewhat alienated from global supply chains, especially those of Western countries.
Under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Indonesia has made proactive attempts to lure big investment from US companies in the electric vehicle (EV) and semiconductor industries, to no avail.
