[ad_1]
As a Javanese man who grew up in the central Javanese city of Surakarta, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo allegedly pretended not to know that the US elections were only days away when he received the US Secretary of State. Mike Pompeo last Wednesday. .
Less than a week after his arrival in Jakarta, Pompeo may become a lame foreign minister along with his boss, President Donald Trump.
But Jokowi will not underestimate Trump’s reelection chances. Nor will it waste the opportunity for defense cooperation between Indonesia and the United States that its Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has won on his recent trip to Washington.
Indonesia, as well as all of Asean, needs a strong US military presence in the region, amid mounting tension in the region now that China has become more assertive in its claim over a large swath of the South China Sea.
Indonesia, however, never wants to form a security alliance despite regional rivalries. Now, the guest from Washington DC was apparently engaged in an impossible mission: to persuade, or more precisely, to pressure Indonesia to work closely with the United States to corner and isolate China, which is Indonesia’s most important trading partner.
The mission came as Washington’s global power and influence is waning, in part because Trump has slashed many fiscal and economic incentives while unilaterally punishing his allies and strategic partners.
Last February, for example, Washington officially removed Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam from the list of developing and least developed countries.
This meant that Indonesia would no longer receive the special differential treatment (SDT) available in the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. The policy has definitely affected Indonesia’s exports to the US.
I can assume that Jokowi was unenthusiastic in responding to any message from the President of the United States, especially after the latest polls showed Trump’s likely defeat to Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden. If the survey is accurate, then Pompeo’s visit was technically a matter of courtesy.
However, this does not mean that Jokowi prefers Biden as the winner, because traditionally the Democratic Party tends to create a scandal over labor, human rights and fair trade issues. Republicans tend not to pay much attention to these issues, instead focusing on benefits and advantages.
Trump is so obsessed with his trade war against China and is so certain that only a few countries dare to reject his call to join forces against China that he has decided to send his top cabinet member several days before the day of the decision of the November 3.
On his visit to the region, Pompeo said last week: “I am sure that my meetings will also include discussions on how free nations can work together to thwart the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party,” as quoted by the Washington Post.
It seems to me that Trump is confident that he will defeat Biden and that the Republicans will dominate the Senate and Congress.
That is why he has ordered Pompeo to visit four countries in the Indian Ocean region to tell them to back him against China.
In a show of hatred against China, Trump accused Beijing of being the party responsible for the spread of Covid-19, which has hit the United States the hardest. Pompeo’s mission was simply to tell his hosts to join Trump in the fight against China.
As a sweetener, Pompeo was accompanied by senior executives from the US International Development Finance Corporation on his visit to India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia. The federal financial institution is in charge of providing and facilitating the financing of private development projects in low- and middle-income countries.
If Trump loses, all the deals and compromises reached during Pompeo’s visit to Jakarta might mean nothing. If he wins, Biden will be concerned about the complicated internal situation, especially the devastating impact of the pandemic on the country’s economy.
Let’s say Trump wins. Pompeo may not keep his current position and, more importantly, knowing his impulsive leadership, Trump may forget or simply ignore his own promises. On the other hand, China will punish those who accept the role of American cheerleaders.
Welcome to Jakarta, Secretary of State Pompeo.
But don’t take it personally when I consider your effort to involve Indonesia in your country’s confrontation with China as mission impossible. This is not because we are afraid of China, but because Indonesia needs both the United States and China, and Indonesia will keep its free and active foreign policy intact forever.
In the event that Trump loses or wins but appoints a new secretary of state, please accept our sincere thanks for your visit. Goodbye. – The Jakarta Post / ANN
[ad_2]
