Expert Highlights Importance of Domestic Stability Amid US-Iran War

Amid global geopolitical tensions following the war between the United States and Iran, Indonesia has a vested interest in maintaining national resilience and domestic stability, according to international relations expert Chandra Purnama. “We must maintain domestic stability as an example of stability for the world. We need to look inward because we also have to truly maintain domestic resilience,” said Chandra during a Global Insight Forum (GIS) webinar on Saturday. One way to preserve national stability amidst global tension is by safeguarding the security of shipping and logistics along the Indonesian Archipelagic Sea Lanes (ALKI), he stated. This involves not turning the country’s sea lanes into a weapon that could bring the tension closer to home. “We should not, in the context of war, use our seas as Iran has done with the Strait of Hormuz,” the academic said. Highlighting the strong reaction to a previous discourse by a national official on imposing transit fees on commercial ships in the Malacca Strait, Chandra affirmed that such actions must be avoided by Indonesia. Beyond maintaining domestic stability, the scholar, who is also a senior fellow at GIS, said Indonesia should enhance its contribution to de-escalating global conflicts, particularly the US-Iran war. He proposed that Indonesia initiate a ‘middle power’ alliance as a platform for developing nations to champion common interests, including peace. Furthermore, Indonesia could initiate an emergency session at the United Nations through the Non-Aligned Movement, of which it is a founding member. He added that Indonesia needs to optimise back-channel diplomacy, facilitating dialogue through non-traditional means to help de-escalate the conflict. The US-Iran war has been ongoing since 28 February, with a memorandum of understanding signed on 18 June to end hostilities and prepare for further peace negotiations. However, since 8 July, US forces have resumed a series of attacks on Iran, with CENTCOM claiming the strikes were in retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.