Opinion | In joining Brics, Indonesia is not suddenly anti-US or pro-China

What Indonesia has gained is strategic autonomy, clout with the US and within Asean, and a bigger voice on the global stage

Reading Time:3 minutes

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto gestures as he speaks during the Indonesia-China Business Forum in Beijing, on November 10, 2024. Photo: AP

Published: 9:30am, 19 Jan 2025Updated: 10:57am, 19 Jan 2025

On January 6, Indonesia was admitted as a full member to Brics, a multinational bloc now comprising 10 key developing economies spanning Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. With the incorporation of the world’s fourth most populous nation, this burgeoning and loosely coordinated grouping features six out of the world’s 10 largest countries by population.

The weaponisation of the US dollar after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has injected renewed momentum into the bloc’s expansion. Last year, it welcomed four new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Some argue that Indonesia’s move augurs a new synergy between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Brics. Others are concerned that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s ardent advocacy of Brics membership could alienate US president-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened 100 per cent tariffs on Brics economies should they adopt an alternative currency to the US dollar.

These commentaries largely miss a key point. Indonesia joining Brics must be viewed in light of Prabowo’s effervescent overtures to Trump and Jakarta’s bid to also join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). On his first trip abroad as president, Prabowo visited first China and then the United States.

Southeast Asian states are keen advocates of hedging, adopting ambiguity in their diplomatic postures and courting all sides in lieu of hopping onto the bandwagon of one great power.

Hedging is an innately complex process for regional powers. Not only must they navigate relations with great powers that may be at loggerheads, they must also assuage their neighbours’ worries over their strategic intentions, lest they be seen as revisionist threats to the status quo.