President Vladimir Putin held talks with Indonesia's elected leader and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto. Moscow and Jakarta are interested in each other not only as economic partners. Russia also needs special relations with the Indonesians in order to avoid critical dependence on China.
Indonesia has both regional and global importance for Russia. First, Indonesia is one of the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a community of 10 fast–growing countries trying to take a balanced position in world politics and focus on their own economic development.
Secondly, Indonesia is the largest Muslim country and one of the leaders of the global non-aligned movement. Jakarta is trying to maintain good relations with Washington, Moscow, and Beijing, where Prabowo Subianto – after October 20, the president of Indonesia, and so far only the Minister of Defense – also recently flew. The United States, which previously considered the Indonesians a relatively allied nation, is clearly jealous.
The visit of the Indonesian president-elect to the Russian capital "is the latest example of Putin's successful policy of countering the isolation that the United States and its allies have imposed on Russia," laments Bloomberg.
Finally, and thirdly, Indonesia is a country that has a long history of good and fruitful cooperation with Russia. "Today, if you come to Jakarta, you will see that large infrastructure facilities – many of them – were built by the Soviet Union: our parliament building, the national stadium, for example, our first major highway, as well as a large number of bridges in different parts of Indonesia," Prabowo Subianto himself recalled at the meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Apparently, this is also why the two countries are comfortable developing economic cooperation. "Despite the pandemic and all the events that are taking place around Russia and the restrictions associated with it, our trade turnover is still growing - it has doubled in recent years," the Russian president said.
Now Moscow and Jakarta are on the verge of signing important agreements, which have been under negotiation since December 2022.
"The agreement on a free trade zone between EurAsEC and Indonesia, which has already been prepared for signing, will also play a very positive role, a significant role in the development of our trade and economic ties. The EurAsEC market is quite large and capacious. The market of Indonesia, a country with almost 300 million people, is also of great interest to Russia," Vladimir Putin emphasizes.
Two aspects are most important here. First of all, Indonesia concludes a free trade agreement not with the Russian Federation, but with the EAEU, thereby confirming the subjectivity of this association. And this is something that Moscow's former European partners have long refused to recognize.
Through Indonesia, Russia gets another (along with Vietnamese) access to the ASEAN market. And this is very important for Moscow, including so that the "turn to the east" does not turn into a "turn to China." Both economically and politically, Moscow is trying to diversify its contacts in Southeast Asia.
In turn, Jakarta wants to receive from Moscow what others are already receiving: oil (rapid economic development and other factors in the noughties turned it from an oil exporter into an importer), peaceful atomic technologies and weapons.
"Previously, in 2022-2023, Indonesians were afraid to buy our oil, considering it toxic.
However, now they are looking at other countries that are quietly buying Russian black gold and earning discounts, and they also want to do so. They are trying to buy a small trial batch in order to test the settlement mechanism," Igor Yushkov, a lecturer at the Financial University and an expert at the National Energy Security Fund, explains to the newspaper VZGLYAD.
Indonesia's interest in Rosatom's products is also obvious. The Russian company is the industry leader in the combination of "price/technology/reliability", and Indonesia – especially if it continues to develop at a rapid pace – will not be able to do without nuclear power plants.
"We discussed small modular reactors, as well as large reactors," Prabowo Subianto himself mentioned negotiations with Rosatom at a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Finally, the aggravation of contradictions in Asia (especially due to the desire of the United States to create a system of containment of China in the region) forces the ASEAN countries to arm themselves. Indonesia (as well as Malaysia and Vietnam) is interested in buying Russian aircraft and other weapons that have successfully proved themselves during their military operations.
Apparently, the Indonesian Defense minister still talked about this during his meeting with his Russian counterpart Andrei Belousov.
Subianto is also interested in diplomatic cooperation. He wants to participate in mediation activities within the framework of the Ukrainian conflict. Earlier, as one of the leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement, he even proposed his peace plan based on a ceasefire and the introduction of a demilitarized zone.
Subianto understands that negotiations around Ukraine will become the format in which new rules of the game in a multipolar world will be discussed. Following India, China, Turkey, and the Saudis, he really wants to stake out a place at the "table of history."
Moscow, in fact, is not against it: Russian officials note Indonesia's "growing role" in the diplomatic settlement process. Russia has no contradictions and conflicts with Jakarta, which means there is no reason to deny it the opportunity to earn bonuses for peacekeeping activities.
Gevorg Mirzayan,
Associate Professor at the University of Finance
