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policy toward China and MSR initiative. Britain and Australia are actually among the
parties of the AIIB with considerable share of fund and votes. Australia contributed as much
as 36.9 billion US to the AIIB and gain 3.46 vote. Britain contributed 30.5 billion US
share and get 3.11 vote in the AIIB. Japan, on the other hand, although initially shows
open gesture to the AIIB proposal, recently refused to join in. Japan’s competition with
China seems to be intensive, especially if we look at its response to Indonesia’s preference
to China’s investment over Japan’s in high speed train development project in mid-2015
project tender. When China won the project, Japan’s leader was disappointed and reacted
quickly by stating that Japan will reevaluate all Japan’s investments in Indonesia.
Will US-China competition for power in the region intensiied and contaged to their
allies? The answer is yet to be seen and takes thorough and careful further research through
strategies and implementation. However, the opportunities and challenges for Indonesia
and China to increase cooperation in maritime sector are clearly relected in the economic
policies and geopolitical settings of the region.
Administrative implementation
of the partnership in maritime development
between China and Indonesia has also encountered problems. This was indicated in
the recent high-tensed argument between the two on South China Sea claims. Indonesia’s
Coordinative Minister for Politics, Law
and Security, Luhut B. Panjaitan, strongly denounced China’s claim of 9-dash South
China Sea policy, particularly regarding Natuna islands being part of the claimed area.
The Minister even threat China’s government to bring this issue to International Court of
Justice if China continue to proceed with the claim.
During this high tension in 2015, the Minister tend to see China’s maritime policy
as an aggressive strategy to control the economy and security in the region against
US’ regional security architecture strategy to soft balance China. The justiication of this
view was the recurring claims over the 9-dash area in the South China Sea and the lack of
implementation of MSR initiative in Indonesia. Panjaitan questions China’s intention with the
MSR initiative as after 2 years of promise to invest in Indonesian maritime development
results in no implementation.
9
D. TOWARDS CONVERGENCE AND REALIZATION OF INDO-PACIFIC
ECONOMIC INTEGRATION? In an age of Asian century, Indonesia is
now seeking to increase its attention to the Indo-Paciic regional cooperation. During the
2014 East Asia Summit, the newly elected President, Jokowi, expressed Indonesia’s
aspiration to increase cooperation in the Indo-Paciic region and to become one of
the regional leading maritime power. The term he used for the aspiration was “global
maritime axis”. As a considerably large archipelagic country, Indonesia’s undersea
natural resources has yet been optimally explored and extracted. Jokowi administration
envisioned on prioritizing maritime industry and infrastructure development for the next
ive years in order to beneit optimally from
Indonesia’s maritime potentials. As Indonesia is located between Indian and Paciic Oceans,
extending maritime cooperation into Indo- Paciic region was considered important to
realize the vision.
In the context of MSR initiative implementation by China, has Indonesia
gain beneit in the form of inancial and technical support for maritime infrastructural
development? As stated by Panjaitan, so far there is no implementation of the promised
support for infrastructure development. It appears that there was miscommunications
between Indonesian and Chinese diplomats regarding the implementation of the MSR
initiative. If China is serious with MSR initiative, there should be some active implementation
in developing the infrastructures along the MSR area, including Indonesia. However,
according to China’s policy makers in the Communist Party, Chinese government was
having dificulties in determining what kind
9 Interview with Gen. ret. Luhut B. Panjaitan,
Coordinating Minister of Politics, Law and Security in Jakarta, October 2015.
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of project in which area of Indonesia needs maritime infrastructure and have suficient
economic potentials to be developed. Chinese government has not yet received
any proposal with prospect and budget estimation from Indonesian government.
China is ready to assist and endorse Chinese investors to participate in Indonesian
maritime infrastructural projects, but there is no suficient information about the projects.
In this perspective, China has actually been waiting for communication and coordination
with Indonesian counterparts to assist infrastructure development projects that
will deinitely converge with Chinese MSR initiative.
If, or when, the implementation of maritime infrastructure development in
Indonesia is operational and parallel with implementation in other countries and
regions, integration in the Indo-Paciic region is achievable. The remaining problem for
Indonesia is the state’s aspiration to maintain leadership in the region. Indonesia has been
considered by many as the leader in the Southeast Asian region and the government
meant to keep it that way. However, the question is, would it still possible under
Chinese leadership in the Indo-Paciic economic integration, Indonesia become
the leader in the region? What kind of power structure will be generated in the region under
Chinese initiative and others’ responses?
The answer lies on the nature of the geopolitical architecture and the nature of
Chinese diplomacy. With power contest between US and China, and others careful
responses to the two, Chinese leadership would be balanced by other states, including
the US and Japan. The trend in the global politics is toward multipolar or non-polar power
structure.
10
China has also been showing consistency in “peaceful rising” diplomacy,
although showing also cautiousness by consistency in increasing defense budget.
Indonesia’s role to balance between the two camps in the regional integration may provide
10 Rizal Sukma, statement in a Focused Group
Discussion FGD conducted by National Planning and Development Agency Bappenas RI in October 2013.
great opportunity for Indonesia for greater contribution in the regional balance of power.
E. CONCLUSION
If implemented succesfully, the MSR initiative would also mean deepening and
widening regional economic integration to include Indo-Paciic region. This result is in
line with both Indonesia and China’s regional policy. In the context of regional balance of
power, problems arise from power contest between US and China. Here Indonesia can
swiftly play between the two powers and take the most from the balancing or rebalancing
acts, just like how it has been playing since Suharto’s leadership. However, if Indonesia
seeks to actively contribute to shape the form of regional order in the midst of China-US
contention, for whatever form, a constructive policy and active diplomacy are needed.
REFERENCES Books and Articles
1. Yale, William, “China’s Maritime Silk Road Gamble”, The Diplomat
, April 22, 2015.
2. Eyler, Brian, “China’s Maritim Silk Road is All About Africa”, retrieved from http:
www.eastbysoutheast.comchinas- maritime-silk-road-africa, on June 23,
2015.
3. Ma, Debin, “The Great Silk Exchange: How the World was Connected and
Developed”, in D. Flynn, L. Frost, and A.J.H. Latham eds., Paciic
Centuries: Paciic and Paciic Rim Centuries in the 16th Century
, London: Routledge, 1998.
4. Szczudlick-Tatar, Justyna, “China’s New Silk Road Diplomacy”, PISM Policy
Paper No. 34 82, December 2013. 5. Gindarsah, Iis, and Adhi Priamarizki,
“Indonesia’s Maritime Doctrine and Security Concerns”, RSIS Policy
Report, April 9, 2015. 6. Kraska, James, Maritime Power and
the Law of the Sea, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
