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Blinken’s visit: Time to bolster US-Indonesia ties in Indo-Pacific?
To ensure a deeper engagement with the region, the US Indo-Pacific economic framework must not complicate and run counter to existing regional mechanisms, including the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Outlook (AOIP).
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Mutual understanding: United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi speak as they sign a memorandum of understanding on maritime cooperation at the Pancasila Building in Jakarta on Dec. 14. (AFP)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s first official visit to Indonesia from Dec. 13 to 14 has raised questions on how it will affect Indonesia-US relations going forward. Indonesia was chosen to be the first stop of his ASEAN tour, signaling Indonesia’s geostrategic importance in the region, which in part rebuts prior speculations that the US is not engaging enough with Indonesia.
In March, the US Interim National Security Strategic Guidance 2021 outlined the need to deepen US partnerships in Southeast Asia, but did not specifically mention Indonesia.
Reflecting on the outcomes of the visit, how has this visit translated into a more concrete and meaningful partnership? More importantly, to what extent has it given a sense of clarity on the implementation of its new Indo-Pacific economic framework?
There are some reasons to suggest why the Indonesia-US partnership is becoming more crucial and how the framework may add value to existing mechanisms in the region.
This year, Indonesia-US ties have intensified bilaterally, regionally and globally. Secretary Blinken’s visit to the ASEAN capital was conducted only four months after the first ever Indonesia-US Strategic Dialogue in Washington, DC last August. In recent months, there has also been a series of high-level visits to Jakarta from the US Department of State, US trade representative and US Congress.
Both countries actively participated in many summits and high-level meetings including the Summit for Democracy, the Bali Democracy Forum, the ASEAN-US Summit and recently the ASEAN-Group of Seven. This reflected their shared values and aspirations on various issues.
As this provides important building blocks to further improve relations, Indonesia and the US can further explore cooperation in key areas in bilateral, regional and global mechanisms.
