Analysts argue that as part of a major change in foreign policy, new President Prabowo Subianto would look for a larger role for Jakarta on the international scene, as seen by Indonesia’s first joint military exercises with Russia this week.
Despite pressure from the West on Jakarta, Prabowo has urged for closer ties with Moscow. Indonesia has always maintained a neutral foreign policy and has refused to take sides in the US-China competition or the Russia-Ukraine war.
“It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter Pandie, researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
The southeast Asian ASEAN bloc, which Indonesia is a member of, held joint drills with Russia in 2021, but individual member nations have never held joint exercises with Moscow.
Jakarta has billion-dollar trade ties with Moscow, but major arms imports have stalled in recent years, according to weapons watchdog SIPRI, following Western sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea in 2014 and invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Despite the alleged threat of US sanctions, Prabowo has managed to maintain a $1.1 billion agreement he made with Russia in 2018 while serving as defence minister.
Additionally, Jakarta resisted pressure from Western countries to exclude Russia from the 2022 G20 conference that it hosted.
Following their July meeting at the Kremlin, Prabowo announced coordinated naval exercises that analysts think show how Moscow will become more important in a larger foreign policy.
The five-day drills begin Monday in eastern Java where Moscow will send three corvette-class warships, a medium tanker ship, a military helicopter, and a tug boat.
“They reaffirm that we will not alienate one or two countries in the geopolitical arena,” said Anton Aliabbas, professor at the Paramadina Graduate School of Diplomacy.
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