Indonesia still respect

Indonesia still respect
the "one China policy"

Jusuf Wanandi
Founder and Member
Board of Trustees
Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS)
Jakarta

If there is one country that understands more fully what
China's "one-China policy" means, that country is Indonesia.

Indonesia, a diverse country encompassing a huge archipelago,
has faced challenges of separation since she was established in
1945, and still faces some demands for independence in Aceh and
West Papua.

Indonesia is trying to find a peaceful and negotiated
settlement to these problems. An agreement on the cessation of
hostilities has been reached in Aceh as a first step towards a
political settlement.

The era of democratization has brought about a new element in
solving those problems. There is now a clear understanding that
an acceptable solution can be reached through peaceful
negotiations. It has also led to realization that separation
could only happen through a peaceful settlement, meaning that
both sides have to agree on the separation as happened between
the Czech Republic and Slovakia a decade ago.

Indonesia's supports a "one-China policy", stated when
diplomatic relations were restored in 1990, as a matter of
principle and not for the sake of expediency to be able to
normalize the relations. Indonesia's principle is that separation
is not acceptable except through peaceful means and agreed by
both sides.

In this sense, the policy of foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda
to refuse the so-called head of state visit from Taiwan two weeks
ago has to be supported. Indonesia cannot condone separation
without both sides, China and Taiwan, agreeing to do so through
peaceful negotiation. The one China policy has to be supported
consistently and without playing political games with Taiwan,
which would only damage relations with China. Similarly,
Indonesia does not condone a military attack by China to take
over Taiwan by force.

Taiwan has always tried to compete with China and to undermine
the one-China principle through tactics that is neither open nor
transparent and fair.

In 1967 immediately after President Sukarno was demoted and
President Soeharto took over, the Indonesian government tried to
open trade and economic relations with Taiwan by establishing a
Chamber of Commerce in both Taipei and Jakarta a few years later.
Then Taiwan promised to supply a revolving credit of US$10
million to buy goods from Taiwan, mostly from her light
industries. But this has never been fulfilled.

Later Taiwan always tried to cut short on her political
interest of getting Indonesia to postpone her normalization with
China by selling rice cheaply through cronies of President
Soeharto. When it comes to investment in Indonesia it was
undertaken mainly through Soeharto's family and cronies, or
through Army corporations and their cronies to get as much
political linkage as possible for those investments. It was never
really separated from political considerations on her side.

Later, then minister for technology and science B.J. Habibie,
also would like to get into the act by establishing contacts with
Taiwan to be able to sell planes. He even made it possible for
Lee Teng-hui to play golf with President Soeharto in Bali. This
was also done to get as much investment as possible from Kuo Min
Tang owned companies. They are the bulk of Taiwan's investment in
Indonesia, amounting US$17 billion.

In the end it should be argued, that as the foreign minister
said earlier, trade and investment or economic relations have to
be based on economic considerations. If they are not, they will
not last. And if Taiwan, as some of its parliament members have
argued, would see their investment in Indonesia as a political
act, and therefore would like to withdraw their investments
because of the refusal to allow President Chen to visit, it is
their right to do so. All kinds of tactics using various promises
through some individuals, as happened with the visit of vice
president Annete Lu a few months ago, and in that way trying to
put the Indonesian government in a fait a complit, can never be
acceptable to Indonesia.