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Middle powers must assert more influence, forum hears
Panelists at an Asia-Pacific security cooperation forum have urged middle powers like Indonesia in ASEAN to assert influence amid the heated United States-China rivalry.
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US President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, on Nov. 14, 2022. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
W
hile the United States-China rivalry has complicated geopolitics, middle powers like Indonesia and other ASEAN members should be “cautiously optimistic” about using their influence to strategically sway global discourse, experts suggested at an Asia-Pacific event on security cooperation in Jakarta on Thursday.
Middle powers belonging to the regional organization, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand, are often overlooked and have their interests undermined in the face of geopolitical giants, analysts argued at the 13th general conference of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP).
But if the powers they wielded were fully realized, they could become a potent force to influence international discourse on security concerns and beyond, analysts said during panel discussions on the first of the two-day conference.
Middle powers are nations that fall below great powers and superpowers in global reach but which nonetheless have outsize influence and command international recognition.
Indonesia’s success this year at mainstreaming its draft proposal on nuclear naval propulsion at the United Nations is one instance of a middle power asserting influence, one panelist from Australia said, adding that similar approaches should be explored in other areas.
Jakarta’s proposal was put forward as part of a UN resolution to keep nuclear power in check, in response to the Australia-United Kingdom-US (AUKUS) initiative to grant Canberra nuclear-powered submarines.
Gareth Evans, president emeritus of the International Crisis Group (ICG) and a former Australian diplomat, said recapturing cooperative security involved having middle powers step up “to play a more strategic role”.
