Celebrating the Renville Treaty: Indonesia’s Growing Role in International Relations
Dr. Frank Porter Graham delivers a speech aboard the USS Renville, 1947. Source: Frank Porter Graham, the United Nations, and Indonesian Independence
On the 75th anniversary of Dr. Frank Porter Graham’s negotiation of the Renville Treaty, the Carolina Asia Center held a joint conference between The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) in Jakarta which discussed Indonesia’s past, present, and future on the world stage. The conference, organized by UNC’s Dr. Kevin Fogg, consisted of two nights of discussion. Keynote speaker Ambassador Piper Campbell of American University and Dr. Aleksius Jemadu of UPH led the first round of discussion; Dr. Yosef Djakababa of UPH, Dr. James Hoesterey of Emory University, and Indonesian political leader Ms. Tsamara Amany led a panel on the second night. The conference mainly concerned itself with the puzzle of Indonesian foreign policy and the country’s role in international relations; pieces of this puzzle include economic interdependence, Indonesia’s history of nonalignment, the country’s leadership and influence within the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), and the role of Islam in Indonesian foreign policy.
Indonesia's economy is an important piece of the puzzle given that it is “the sixth biggest emerging market by GDP” and boasts an abundance of nickel and other green metals used in batteries. Indonesia also has a strong digital service sector that has played an important role in creating “a more integrated consumer market” in that the economy relies on a variety of outputs rather than becoming dependent on one resource in a fluctuating market. The diversity, size, and growing relevance of the Indonesian economy make the country a target for foreign direct investment and, according to UPH’s Dr. Jemadu, indicative of Indonesia’s growing significance on the world stage.
In an interview with the Carolina Political Review (CPR), Amb. Campbell stated that while widely held views would suggest an increase in economic independence as Indonesia’s economy grows, the reality is that the country is developing a “voracious appetite where… growth actually generates a demand for additional investment.” Indonesia’s economy is growing at such a rate that the government cannot keep up with its needs and must turn to outside investment such as outwardly-funded infrastructure and capital goods; investors include China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. According to Amb. Campbell, this variety of sources of foreign direct investment means that Indonesia can avoid limiting itself to any one country’s “camp” as it brings in funds and projects from multiple avenues. As such, Indonesian leaders seek to maintain proactive foreign policy that prioritizes Indonesian issues rather than issues of allyship or alignment with global powers.
In a similar vein, another facet of Indonesia’s complex foreign policy is one of impartiality which has roots in the country’s history with the Non-Aligned Movement, an organization founded during the Cold War dedicated to “decolonization, formation of new independent states, and democratization of international relations.” As the name suggests, members of the Non-Aligned Movement sought to maintain neutrality between the US and the Soviet Union. UPH’s Dr. Djakababa discussed how the Indonesian historical memory of the Cold War shapes foreign policy today and informs Indonesia’s “Free and Active” foreign policy doctrine. Indonesia contributed significantly to the Non-Aligned Movement as the host of the coalition’s first conference in Bandung and adhered to a postcolonial mindset that aligned with neither communism nor Western capitalism. Consequently, the legacy of such a commitment often bleeds into current foreign policy; Dr. Djakababa stated that this could be detrimental to Indonesian foreign relations because current conditions are not comparable to Cold War conditions and that a failure to adapt may lead to mistaken assumptions regarding the state of international relations.
Dr. Yosef Djakababa (left) and Ms. Tsamara Amany (right). Source: Dr. Kevin Fogg
In her keynote lecture, Amb. Campbell emphasized the importance of adjusting the lens through which we view Indonesia on the world stage. One such lens is that of ASEAN, which is chaired this year by Indonesia. As the largest state and economy in the organization, Indonesia exercises major influence over ASEAN endeavors which are based on “community and connectivity” among member states, according to Amb. Campbell. The ambassador also spoke of a need for Indonesia to use this influence and act on the ongoing conflict in Myanmar. In her interview with the CPR, she framed the conflict in Myanmar as a “civil war” and a “disruption to the region that the region just can’t ignore.” Conversely, Dr. Jemadu framed the conflict in Myanmar as a “human rights issue” rather than a civil war and argued that Indonesia and ASEAN have no reason or grounds on which to intervene, citing ASEAN’s principle of noninterference within member states’ borders and the charter’s commitment to maintaining sovereignty. These competing viewpoints demonstrate a crossroads in Indonesian foreign policy at which President Joko Widodo must reconcile his goals for an independent Indonesian path with the concrete action he must take to get there.
Ambassador Piper Campbell (left) and UNC graduate student Baiquni Hasbi (right). Source: Dr. Kevin Fogg
The fourth piece of the Indonesian puzzle revolves around Islam and soft power. Emory University’s Dr. Hoesterey discussed the creation of “moderate Islam,” a foreign relations tool that Indonesia and the West both adopted for several reasons. First, the West sought to create categories of “good” and “bad” Muslims to define a path for their own foreign policy; second, the Indonesian government touted this idea of the “moderate Muslim” to position itself as a peace-broker in the Middle East and to promote the Indonesian “brand” of Islam. An example of the promotion of Indonesian Islam is the Indonesian Muslim Association in America Center, a religious nonprofit established by Indonesia in Washington D.C. meant to build a relationship between Indonesian Islam and Muslim communities in the US and to show that Indonesia’s “brand” of Islam was compatible with American policy goals. According to Dr. Hoesterey, leaders of various religions were invited to the opening of this center as a display of this same tolerance and compatibility between Indonesian Islam and others. Dr. Hoesterey also stated that “moderate Islam” serves as a policy tool to position Indonesia as a peace broker in the Middle East; an example of this is the 2016 Bali Democracy Forum hosted by Indonesia which promoted “democratic values, and strengthening a progressive democratic architecture in the Asia-Pacific.” Dr. Hoesterey described this forum as a demonstration of “Indonesia’s lessons for the Arab Spring,” referring to the 2010-2011 anti-government protests across the Middle East and North Africa region. Overall, Indonesian Islam shapes both external perceptions of international relations and the nature and characteristics of religious collaboration in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
The major takeaway from the event is that Indonesia is rapidly gaining economic and political influence on the world stage via increasingly diverse foreign direct investment, Indonesia’s sway within ASEAN, and the desire to forge an independent Indonesian path of proactive foreign policy. Among the speakers, there was a consensus that this desire would have to be pursued with greater vigor and more concrete action than is currently being taken by President Widodo if Indonesia is to develop greater agency regarding international relations. Indonesia has the potential to become a leader in Southeast Asia and even on the world stage; to fulfill this potential, leaders must continue to work toward establishing fruitful relationships with their neighbors and encouraging greater collaboration among the G20.