Jakarta. Indonesia stepped up measures to assert its influence in the regional and global forums throughout 2023, riding on its successful leadership of the Group of 20 the prior year.

The country assumed the rotating chair of the economic bloc ASEAN in 2023 and initiated policies to keep the regional grouping relevant amid escalating geopolitical tensions and optimize its economic potential in the face of growing China-US rivalries and trade restrictions from the European Union.

As Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine continued and a new war erupted between Israel and the militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo took a leading role in global diplomacy to restore international order and pursue global peace.

During his international tours, Jokowi has met in person with Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, and Emmanuel Macron and convened with the leaders of the Arab League throughout last year to reiterate that arms conflicts posed serious risks to global food security and energy supplies.

Against the backdrop of his final year in the presidency, the Jokowi administration has conducted arguably the most extensive global diplomatic effort in a single year.

Here is a recap of events that encapsulate Indonesia's foreign policy actions in 2023. 

ASEAN Chairmanship

Indonesia helmed the Southeast Asian bloc under the theme “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”. The last time it assumed the chairmanship was in 2011. As the 2023 chair, Indonesia wanted to strengthen ASEAN as a fast-growing and sustainable economic region. Jakarta also tried to show that ASEAN remained relevant and important to its people and beyond.

Indonesia wrapped up its year-long chairmanship with some documents, including a deal on electric vehicles (EVs) that can help ASEAN cut emissions while also driving economic growth. ASEAN -- along with China, Japan, and South Korea -- agreed to work together on building the regional EV ecosystem. Japan recently agreed to provide $1 billion to build this ecosystem of e-mobility. 

ASEAN also launched the negotiations for the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) last year. ASEAN’s digital economy is set to reach $2 trillion by 2030 if the DEFA is in place. The DEFA pact can help spur Indonesia’s internet economy to $800 billion. The pact is touted to be the world’s first major region-wide digital economy agreement.

Chair Indonesia wanted to maintain ASEAN’s neutral stance amid the growing tension between US and China.

"ASEAN agreed to not become a proxy to any power. … Don't turn our ship into a battleground for rivalries that destroy one another," Jokowi said when kicking off the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on September 5, 2023.

"This ocean is too vast for us to sail alone. We will meet other ships, namely ASEAN's dialogue partners. Let us work in concert to achieve a fair and mutually beneficial cooperation as we sail towards an epicentrum of growth," Jokowi said.

2023 marks the first time Timor Leste -- who has been seeking a seat in ASEAN for over a decade -- attended the group’s meetings as an observer. ASEAN leaders have adopted a roadmap for Timor Leste to become a full-fledged member. During his visit to Jakarta in August, Timor Leste President José Ramos Horta said that a full membership should ideally occur in 2025 as the extra two years would mean that his country could be more prepared.

Non-Megaphone Diplomacy on Myanmar 

The Myanmar crisis posed one of the toughest challenges to Indonesia’s chairmanship. The Myanmar junta to this day still fails to implement the five-point consensus, a peace plan that demands a constructive dialogue among all parties.

The Myanmar coup-d’etat erupted in February 2021. Brunei Darussalam was the ASEAN chair at the time. The succeeding chairs Cambodia –- and eventually Indonesia -- had to inherit the task of tackling the Myanmar issue. 

Jakarta favored adopting a non-megaphone diplomacy, meaning that it had been quietly engaging the Myanmar stakeholders -- including the military junta as well as the government-in-exile National Unity Government (NUG). Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi in late December told reporters that Indonesia had made over 180 engagements with these stakeholders. 

When the leaders gathered in Jakarta in September, the bloc agreed to form a troika -- an informal consultation mechanism consisting of current, previous, and incoming ASEAN chairs -- to cool down the Myanmar crisis. Retno said that Indonesia had informed the 2024 chair Laos of what Jakarta had done so far on the Myanmar matter. 

“Indonesia is more than ready to contribute. I believe all of us in ASEAN share the same goal of seeing peace and stability in Myanmar,” Retno said.

Stand with Palestine

Militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggering an escalation of conflict with millions of Gazans now suffering from the war. 

The worsening situation prompted leaders of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League to hold an emergency summit in Riyadh the following month. Jokowi told the summit that Israel’s "barbaric actions" were not an act of self-defense. 

The US has been under fire for supporting Israel. Aside from vetoing a UN resolution on a Gaza humanitarian pause, Washington has been providing military funding -- which topped $3.8 billion in 2023 -- to Israel. On the margins of the Riyadh Summit, Jokowi promised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he would relay the latter’s message to US President Joe Biden whom he would be meeting shortly.

The Riyadh summit appointed Indonesia, along with some other nations, to send its foreign minister to push for international action to stop the war. Retno, along with her OIC counterparts, later in November toured around UN Security Council permanent members -- China, Russia, the UK, and France -- to garner their support. The delegates, however, skipped the US despite also being a permanent member of the UN Security Council. 

Indonesia sent some logistics aid to Gaza as the war puts the Palestinian enclave in dire need of assistance. The archipelagic country deployed its first batch of assistance amounting to 51.5 tons on Nov. 4, and another 21 tons of aid about two weeks later. 

Also in the same year, Jakarta won overwhelming support to be reelected into the UN Human Rights Council. According to Retno, Indonesia plans to serve the council for the 2024-2026 term with Palestinian advocacy high on the agenda.

No Rush on BRICS Membership

In August, President Jokowi attended a summit organized by an economic bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, known as BRICS. His participation in the Summit in Johannesburg triggered speculations about Indonesia's intention to join the club.

However, Jokowi made it clear that Indonesia still had not signed up with the BRICS.

“A country has to submit an expression of interest to join BRICS. … To this day, Indonesia has not submitted such a letter,” Jokowi said after the summit.

“We intend to conduct thorough study and calculation first. We do not want to rush. We share great relations with the five BRICS members, particularly from an economic standpoint.” 

The group recently expanded after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia officially joined.

Energy Transition Isn't Cheap
On the climate front, Jokowi never failed to highlight at global forums that an energy transition would require substantial investments. The huge amount of money needed sets a major roadblock for developing economies’ energy transition journey.

“All these efforts need substantial financing. It would be impossible for developing countries to do it alone. Indonesia needs investments worth over $1 trillion to reach net zero emission by 2060,” Jokowi told the UN climate forum COP28 in Dubai on Dec. 1.

In a similar fashion, Jokowi told the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Summit in Tokyo later that month that ASEAN would need $29.4 trillion by 2050 to fund its energy transition efforts.

Jokowi, Joe Biden, and Xi Jinping

In 2023, Jokowi visited the US and China as Jakarta sought to maintain close ties with the world's two biggest economies. Jokowi flew to China for some talks on trade with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in July. The Indonesian leader returned to China the following month to celebrate a decade of Xi’s brainchild Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI sees China making major infrastructure investments across the globe. This includes the $7.3 billion high-speed train project linking Jakarta and Bandung which was largely funded by China.

The year saw Indonesia and the US upgrading their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership -- the highest possible status of cooperation. US President Joe Biden announced the new status when he hosted Jokowi at the White House in November 2023.

Both leaders agreed to develop a critical mineral action plan. Indonesia today does not have a free trade agreement with the US, thus the domestically produced batteries for electric vehicles would not be eligible for the tax credits under the USA's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), making them less competitive in the American market. Indonesia hopes the aforementioned action plan can culminate in the formal negotiations for a deal that can make Indonesia’s processed minerals and EV batteries covered by the IRA.

Government data showed that Indonesia-China trade totaled $104.8 billion in January-October 2023 with Jakarta booking a $1.6 billion surplus. Indonesia’s trade with the US reached $28.7 billion over the same period. Indonesia recorded a $9.8 billion surplus with the US. 

China and the US are among the top five of Indonesia’s largest sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in January- September 2023. China ranked second place ($5.6 billion), while the US placed fifth ($2.4 billion). 

Indonesia-EU: From Nickel Dispute to Anti-Deforestation Law
The ties between Indonesia and the European Union have faced some challenges over the past years, particularly on the economic front. Jokowi has begun banning exports of unprocessed mining minerals such as nickel to develop local industries and generate jobs. The policy of putting forward the domestic industry first was integral in Jokowi’s economic diplomacy. The EU, however, was not happy with the nickel export ban and sued Indonesia at the World Trade Organization (WTO). 

The EU’s anti-deforestation law then put another strain on its ties with Indonesia. The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) mandates traders to prove that their palm oil, among other commodities, does not come from deforested land before entering the EU market. The European bloc requires the geolocation coordinates of where they grow the palm oil as proof. Indonesia fears smallholders will struggle to comply with the regulation. Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto even accused the EU of "imperialism" by issuing the EUDR. 

Indonesia chose not to sit still. Jakarta and fellow palm oil producer Malaysia sent a joint mission to Brussels to protest against the regulation. This eventually led to the formation of an ad hoc joint task force between the EU, Indonesia, and Malaysia to find the best possible solution.

At the same time, Indonesia and the EU have been trying to seal an overdue trade pact. Both sides have agreed to conclude the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Partnership Agreement negotiations (CEPA) this year. 

OECD Bid

Jokowi is actively pursuing membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). After being a key partner of the OECD for over a decade, Indonesia officially applied to join the group in July. The government finds an OECD membership can result in policy reforms, which can be Indonesia’s ticket to become an advanced economy. 

Whenever he met leaders of OECD members, Jokowi would often take the opportunity to ask for their support. Indonesia said that OECD members had backed Jakarta’s candidacy. But one thing to note is that it takes years for a country to actually secure a seat in the group. As a case in point, Chile’s accession process spanned seven years before it could officially be a full-fledged member.

Indonesia on Rohingya Refugees

Near the end of the year, Indonesia faced an influx of Rohingya refugees, sparking protests from locals. The Associated Press wrote that over 1,500 fleeing Rohingyans have arrived in Aceh since November. Jokowi blamed the influx of refugees on people smuggling syndicates. He vowed to take stern measures against the perpetrators. According to Jokowi, Indonesia plans to accommodate the Rohingya refugees temporarily.

“We will provide temporary humanitarian aid to refugees while still prioritizing the interests of the local community. The Indonesian government will continue to coordinate with international organizations to address this issue,” Jokowi saidon Dec. 8.

Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugees Convention. Therefore, Indonesia bears no obligation to accept the refugees. According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, Indonesia has been accepting the Rohingya refugees based on “humanitarian reasons”.

“Ironically, state parties to the convention have closed their doors and even pushed back the refugees,” Lalu said in November.

Who Is Next?
This weekend, presidential candidates -- Prabowo Subianto, Ganjar Pranowo, and Anies Baswedan -- will take the stage once again for a debate on geopolitics and international relations, among other things. All candidates already gave a sneak peek of their foreign policies at a series of conferences held by the Central Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in November.

Prabowo, who currently serves as the Defense Minister, told the CSIS forum that he would carry on Jokowi’s economic diplomacy. This means that if elected, Prabowo plans on making sure that Indonesia processes its natural resources --including minerals -- at home rather than exporting them unprocessed. Prabowo wants to maintain a “good neighbor policy” in the region and beyond, even saying that “1,000 friends is too few, one enemy is too many.”

Ganjar wants to stick to Indonesia’s free and active policy in which the country does not align with major powers. But by “free”, it should mean that Indonesia independently designs much more strategic policies, according to Ganjar. He also wants Indonesia to be the global “safe haven” for industrialization.

Speaking at the CSIS forum, Anies said he wanted to pursue a “value-led foreign policy”. He finds that Indonesia has been too business-oriented, saying that Jakarta only wants to partake in foreign matters if it can get economic gains in return. 

The debate is set to take place this weekend.