Significance of Mega's East European trip

Significance of Mega's East European trip

Bantarto Bandoro, Editor, 'The Indonesian Quarterly',
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta,
bandoro@csis.or.id

Global politics has always been dynamic, particularly due to
the diplomatic and political maneuvers carried out by countries.
The state always experiences change and continuity, and thus
always moves ahead, adjusting and changing in response to
internal developments and external circumstances. The initiation
of new policies by a country is bound to cause reactions from
others. Such policy initiatives might cause shift, if not
fundamental changes, in the global political landscape.

Thus, every country desires a real sense of security,
something that will guarantee its long-term development.
Megawati's recent trip to the countries of Eastern Europe, a
response to the country's external circumstances, aimed not only
at enhancing the credibility of Indonesian international
diplomacy -- thus securing external resources for its development
-- but also to make sure that it had all it needed to protect its
sovereignty. All these elements are encapsulated in the concept
of security.

Many saw the President's trip to Eastern European countries
only from the perspective of shopping for arms equipment. Indeed,
Megawati's decision to make Eastern Europe part of the country's
foreign policy objectives is a response to specific problems that
Indonesia has, which may not involve broader global issues. Thus,
the focus is upon the resolution of a specific problem, i.e an
arms embargo.

A U.S. embargo on arms sales to Indonesia, imposed 12 years
ago because of human rights abuse allegations, has forced Jakarta
to diversify its sources of supply.

In Russia, the government signed an arms deal, expanding
defense cooperation with Russia. Jakarta and Moscow seek to
expand their once-close military and economic ties. Indonesia
relied heavily on Soviet military assistance in the 1950s. But
the close ties were severed after anticommunist Soeharto seized
power in 1965.

In Poland, Indonesia also shopped for military equipment. The
Polish government proposed vast cooperation in the military and
arms domain. Indonesia is at a stage of rebuilding its military
capabilities and certainly Poland and Russia could be important
sources of military armaments. Thus, it is clear that the focus
of recent visits of Megawati to the East European countries was
arms procurement.

Yet, the visit reflects more than just the need for Indonesia
to rebuild and modernize its military. Indonesia, under Megawati,
is experiencing tremendous changes, domestically and
internationally. Either, initiatives or a decision in response to
these changes will have to be taken by the government in order
for it to overcome the impact of the changes.

Indonesia is acutely aware of emerging hopes of peace and
advantageous cooperation as the major trend in modern
international relations.

Indonesia's approach to Eastern Europe is aimed at broadening
the spectrum of its international diplomacy. It is through
bilateral diplomacy that Indonesia wishes to gain more political
advantage for its international standing.

Megawati's "go-east" diplomacy should not be viewed as a
challenge to U.S. policy, and it is not meant to sacrifice
Indonesia's relations with the U.S. The U.S. remains important,
politically and strategically.

However, any hegemonic design in international affairs is not
congruent with the emerging ethos of cooperation. The U.S., being
the superpower, is bound to play a pivotal role in international
affairs, but unipolarity cannot be accepted. That is to say, no
country should seek hegemony, practice power politics or
monopolize international affairs.

Countries have to work together for progressive development
and to settle major international problems. This is perhaps the
message conveyed to the U.S. by the visit of Megawati to Russia,
Poland and Romania. An improvement in Indonesia-Russia ties is
not anti-American in its spirit and orientation. Indonesia and
Russia do resent the "unilateral military ad security advantage"
of the U.S., but that does not signify hostile intention or
attitude.

Indonesia's "strategic partnership" with Eastern European
countries might be helpful in balancing the unipolarity, in a
way, to bring about regional and international peace.

The strengthened cooperation between Indonesia and Russia not
only conforms the fundamental interest of both countries, but it
is also of great strategic significance to the progress of a
multipolar world and a more constructive world order.

The Indonesia-Russia relationship is not directed against any
particular state, but is to serve their national interests by
ensuring economic and political cooperation. That the two
countries have also struck some significant defense deals not
only boosts Indonesia's defense posture, but will also enhance
the strategic significance of Indonesia's geopolitical position,
particularly in the face of regional security turbulence.

Indonesia's partnership with Russia will certainly grow, as
both share a common understanding that international issues
should be solved through collaborative efforts. Indonesia's
diplomacy and its strategic move toward Eastern European
countries has provided Indonesia with certain strategic gains.

First, being the most influential and important country in the
region, the possession of Russian-made arms will beef up the
country's confidence in performing its regional defense role.

Second, from the perspective of regional and alliance
politics, Indonesia's ties with Moscow and other Eastern European
countries have opened up windows of opportunity for Indonesia to
expand diplomacy outside its immediate region.

Developments in Eastern Europe, particularly in the three
countries visited by Megawati, have provided Indonesia with an
additional "diplomatic menu", meaning that Indonesia can and is
free to choose whatever it sees as important for its future
development, something that cannot be offered by other parts of
the globe.

And third, the purchase of arms will definitely increase the
confidence of the Military in performing its national defense
role. There is no doubt about the reliability of Russian high-
performance fighter-bombers. The 1,800-mile range will allow the
Indonesian air force to patrol, with pride, the vast Indonesian
archipelago, perhaps better than short-range U.S. jets.

The expansion of our defense links with Eastern European
countries has added political weight to the country's regional
profile. Indonesia's cooperation and collaboration with Russia
can enhance our international standing and enable it to deal with
future problems more effectively. The emergence of such close
ties is of great significance and could be a very important
factor in the development of a more stable and secure region.