In a move that appears to be aimed at pushing its Indo-Pacific campaign forward and alienating China from other Asian countries, the United States has extended preferential trade terms for Indonesia. Following the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Jakarta last week, the country has officially extended Indonesia’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status, which eliminates tariffs on thousands of goods the US imports from Indonesia. The move comes after the Trump administration had considered ending the GSP status for Indonesia. Indo-Pacific refers to the region straddling the Indian and Pacific oceans, where countries like Japan, Australia and India, together with the US, have published their respective Indo-Pacific strategies to counterweigh China. Rooted in its free and active foreign policy principle, Indonesia has been adamant in ensuring that the ...