During the course of their sixty year-old bilateral relationship, Indonesia and China have gone through many ups and downs. A great part of the formative years of this relationship was marred by mutual apathy, if not distrust.
President Obama’s visit to Indonesia is expected to excise the sense of drift in the relationship that had crept in the post-Suharto phase of transition.
Indonesia, which has been taking significant measures to curb terrorism, scored another success with the arrest of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir aka ABB, suspected of having funded and ideologically motivated Al Qaeda Aceh, in early August 2010. The arrest is just one of the steps in a long, consistent and protracted fight to maintain Indonesia’s secular, democratic and republican credentials.
Many Papuans prefer to internationalise their plight and seek a third party to settle the issue as they do not trust the Jakarta elites and Indonesians in general.
This commentary attempts to answer the question as to why the flow of jihadis is unending despite tough measures being undertaken by Jakarta, on its own or in collaboration with its regional and international partners.
Indonesia is trying to gain the leadership position in Southeast Asia through constructive and cooperative gestures and balanced bargaining between major powers.
A Constitutional court recently dismissed a petition about alleged electoral irregularities filed by opposition presidential candidates Megawati Sukarnoputri and Jusuf Kalla. The decision effectively clears the decks for a second term for the incumbent president Bambang Sushilo Yudhoyono. Both Megawati and Kalla registered complaints against voting list frauds and bogus voting in the constitutional court on July 28 and demanded reelection.
India-Indonesia: Towards Strategic Convergence
President Yudhoyono’s visit is likely to take the strategic partnership to the next level.