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Strategic perspectives on Indonesia-Japan ties under Kishida
Geopolitically, Japan under Kishida still needs to recalibrate its efforts in balancing powerful competition, mainly from China, in the region that includes Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
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This handout picture taken and released on April 29 by Indonesia's Presidential Palace shows Indonesian President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (right) speaking as Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida watches during a joint press conference at the presidential palace in Bogor, West Java. (AFP/Presidential Palace)
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio visited Jakarta recently as part of his first Southeast Asian trip, after a few months ruling one of the Indo-Pacific’s largest economies. Since he was elected in October 2021, he focused on managing the economic hardships wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, which troubled political dynamics domestically.
His outing marks the starting point of his engagement with foreign partners, including with those in Southeast Asia.
As former foreign minister, Kishida’s sight is not blurry in terms of his vision for Japan's international engagement. He reemphasized the importance of Japan’s strong ties with the United States and its engagement with other countries, as a counter to the risks posed by China’s political and economic influence and growth -- including with Southeast Asian nations.
In his meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Kishida underscored the significance of a Jakarta-Tokyo partnership in strengthening the rules-based, free and open international order. Among the conversations, the two leaders prioritized the reinvigoration of Indonesia-Japan cooperation in the realms of economy, trade, investment and infrastructure in the post-pandemic time; additional concerns discussed were geopolitical shocks due to the Ukraine-Russia war and the unresolved Myanmar crisis.
As expected, Jokowi brought up his consistent vision to develop Indonesia’s infrastructure projects with projects such as Nusantara capital city in East Kalimantan and Ambon port in Maluku. Previously, Japan has been involved in numerous mega-infrastructure projects, namely Jakarta MRT and Patimban seaport in West Java. Strategically, Japan was always among the most important of Indonesia’s development partners, and that contributes to the countries’ robust friendship.
Geopolitically, Japan under Kishida still needs to recalibrate its efforts in balancing powerful competition, mainly from China, in the region that includes Indonesia and Southeast Asia. The escalation driven by that competition can be seen from political and economic dynamics even during the pandemic, ranging from vaccine production, infrastructure development, maritime, security cooperation and so forth.
The establishment of US-led AUKUS and intensified meetings of Quad added to questions about how to build trust among countries in the Indo-Pacific region. With no doubt, the dynamic has posed a risk for Indonesia-Japan bilateral relationships; in particular, how to maintain Jokowi’s government’s trust toward the relatively quickly changing administration in Tokyo. Given Indonesia's consistent interests and a variety of post-pandemic needs, this is a golden opportunity in time for Kishida’s new administration to win trust from Indonesia.
