GLOBAL SECURITY STRATEGIC

Indonesia’s Role in Maintaining the Balance of Power

 in the South China Sea Conflict

ACSC Preparatory Course, Seminar 16

Each country has a global security strategy to achieve the national interest, even though sometimes it overlaps with the interests of other countries. Nations assert common political interests as independent communities and act as legitimate agents in international affairs.[i] This condition happened to the People of the Republic of China (PRC) when expanding its influence in the South China Sea (SCS) area. How are Indonesia’s actions in preventing the potential conflict in the SCS? Indonesia is the biggest country in Southeast Asia, and some territories are next to the SCS territory. Moreover, Indonesia is one of the founding members of ASEAN, a notable multilateral organization in Southeast Asia. Based on the two facts, Indonesia has an essential role in global security, especially in the SCS conflict.

Global security involves a country's ability y to minimize external threats and maintain sovereignty.[ii] It becomes more critical when some countries in the same region have a different view that threatens the sovereignty of others, like in the SCS. Indonesia should take a role as a balancing power in the SCS conflict. Firstly, Indonesia used diplomacy power to respond to the PRC directly; on the other hand, it utilized multinational organizations’ influence to put more pressure on the PRC. Secondly, Indonesia used military power to give a deterrent effect and executed defense strategic cooperation with other countries. Furthermore, both the power of diplomacy and the military should have short and long-term planning. With the simultaneous implementation of two instruments of power, Indonesia can reduce the PRC's domination in the SCS and make the situation more stable.

As a big country, Indonesia is essential in utilizing diplomacy power to balance the PRC’s influence in the SCS. Great-power diplomacy gives priority to systemic stability and reducing conflict between political actors.[iii] Indonesia has great potential power diplomacy to counter the PRC’s influence in the SCS. For the short term, Indonesia has submitted protest notes to the PRC through the foreign ministry on the actions of Chinese fishermen escorted by the coast guard who did illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing across the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) next to SCS. Besides that, Indonesia released a map of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia’s new version in 2017. In this new map, Indonesia introduced the North Natuna Sea, an area in the Indonesia EEZ directly adjacent to the SCS.[iv] The Indonesian government reacted directly to the PRC’s action in SCS; it showed how vital sovereignty is for the nation and told China that its action created instability in the region.

Correspondingly, Indonesia used diplomatic power with long-term goals to maintain the stability of the SCS. Indonesia should make the SCS dispute become a collective issue among the ASEAN members and drive ASEAN to approach the problem with a focus on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) treaty.[v] ASEAN should emphasize UNCLOS when developing a Declaration of The Conduct of Parties in the SCS with the PRC. Moreover, Indonesia, as a member of the United Nations (UN), has used a continuity objection strategy by sending diplomatic notes to the UN according to the dispute claim territory by China.[vi] If Indonesia could get UN acknowledgment firmly, it would be supported by the majority of United Nations members. Furthermore, Indonesia also used geopolitical instruments by using the United States of America’s influence in the Indo-Pacific area. The U.S. has understood that the best way to promote American interests is to firmly establish the US in the Indo-Pacific, enhance the region, and work hand in hand with closest allies and partners.[vii] Indonesia, as a strategic partner of the U.S., often held a successful meeting between countries, which was also attended by the U.S. and the PRC. On many occasions, Indonesia can play its global role properly to defuse the conflict in the SCS.

The traditional focus of deterrence theory has been on developing military capability to dissuade the use of force.[viii] As a sovereign state, Indonesia can use military power to create a deterrent effect to offset Chinese influence in the SCS. In short-term planning, Indonesia is thickening defense lines directly in NNS by building new military units and infrastructure in Natuna Island and West Borneo Province; moreover, it is increasing the intensity of sea patrols by the navy and maritime security agency. In addition, Indonesian armed forces carried out routine military exercises in the NNS area individually. They held several joint military exercises together with other countries, like the Super Garuda Shield Exercise in 2022. The last phenomenal military exercise on June 2023 with the code name Komodo Multilateral Naval Exercise involved 36 countries around the globe, and the interesting point is that China and the USA were able to train together even amid the tension of the SCS conflict. Indonesia tried to respond to PRC action on time with military power by showing the strength and readiness of the Indonesian armed forces and cooperation with other nations’ military.

Comparatively, military power can be used for long-term planning to equilibrate PRC influence in the SCS. The Indonesian Ministry of Defense implements weapons procurement with military industry from other countries like Lockheed Martin-U.S. and Dassault Aviation-French through the Ministry of Defense. Along with this, Indonesia should increase support for the national defense industry like PTDI, PINDAD, and PTPAL; therefore, Indonesia has cooperation with the foreign defense industry, like the IFX-KFX program with KAI-South Korea, to carry out the process of technology transfer. Significant growth in military strength will increase Indonesia’s strategic value in the SCS. Fulfilling the readiness of modern military weapons quickly and independently is the key to the long-term use of military power.

In conclusion, every nation has its own global security strategy based on its geopolitics and the resources which they have. Indonesia should use its global potential for balancing power, especially in the SCS dispute. Indonesia’s strategic position generates distinct short- and long-term advantages to keep the SCS situation in check. Indonesia can act individually as a nation or collectively as a multinational organization. Moreover, good relationships with other countries and organizations will increase the power of diplomacy. 

Additionally, Indonesia activated military power simultaneously to respond to the conflict in the SCS and involved other countries’ abilities to suppress the PRC’s influence. The level of combat readiness determines the strength of Indonesia’s military power; therefore, the independence of the domestic defense industry is urgently needed. Indonesia used military power for diplomacy to reduce tension between conflicting countries and help to find a solution to the SCS conflict. Going forward, Indonesia should take strategic steps to become a major country in the southern hemisphere that can guarantee stability and security in the region.

Maj. Dolly J. P. Hutagalung – Indonesian Air Force, ACSC, Seminar 164

Global Security Strategic Essay, 6 July 2023

Notes

I wish to thank Ms. Annie, Maj Arya, Maj Kresna, and other fellow officers in the 164-communication skill class for their thoughtful comments and suggestions. All errors found therein are my own.

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[i]. S. Burchill, "Origins and Antecedents," in The National Interest in International Relations Theory (Basingstoke: Springer, 2005). 

[ii].  Muhammad U. Albab and Fadhlan N. Hakiem, "The Effectiveness of SBY Defense Strategy to Encounter China Power in International Security Threats 2009-2014," Journal of International Relations 1 (December 2018): http://repo.unida.gontor.ac.id/29/. 

[iii]. Kjell Engelbrekt, "Great- Power Diplomacy and International Security in Historical Context," in High-table Diplomacy: The Reshaping of International Security Institutions (Washington: Georgetown University Press, 2016), PDF e-book. 

[iv]. Yuli A. Sulistyani, Andhini C. Pertiwi, and Marina I. Sari, "Indonesia’s Responses toward the South China Sea Dispute During Joko Widodo’s Administration," Politica 12 (May 2021): 92, doi: 10.22212/jp.v12i1.2149. 

[v]. Robert C. Beckman, "ASEAN and the South China Sea Dispute," in Entering Uncharted Waters? (Singapore: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute Singapore, 2015), e-book, 

[vi]. Sulistyani, Pertiwi, and Sari, " Indonesia’s Responses," 94. 

[vii]. The White House, "The Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States," The White House, last modified February 22, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/U.S.-Indo-Pacific-Strategy.pdf. 

[viii]. Robert P. Haffa Jr., "The Future of Conventional Deterrence: Strategies for Great Power Competition," Air University, last modified 2018, https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/SSQ/documents/Volume-12_Issue-4/Haffa.pdf.