Jokowi’s Visit Will Highlight Why Indonesia Is a Natural U.S. Partner

8202019 Jokowirsquos Visit Will Highlight Why Indonesia Is a Natural US Partner

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1 Center for American Progress | Jokowirsquos Visit Will Highlight Why Indonesia Is a Natural US Partner

Jokowirsquos Visit Will Highlight

Why Indonesia Is a Natural US PartnerBy Brian Harding October 21 2015

On Ocober 26 Indonesian Presiden Joko Widodo known universally as Jokowi will

visi he W hie House o mee wih Presiden Barack Obama capping a busy season

o presidenial-level diplomacy wih Eas Asia1 Jokowi will also give a speech o busi-

ness leaders in Washingon and wil l visi San Francisco o mee wih ech execuives

during his rip

o he business leaders Jokowi will make he case ha 12 monhs ino his adminisra-

ion he has improved he oreign invesmen climae and ha Indonesia is open or

business o Presiden Obama he will sress ha Indonesia is a key parner on a range o

regional and global issues and ha he naion is no urning inward as many observers

ear Troughou he visi Jokowi and his advisors will seek o ell his personal sory991252a

journey ha should resonae wih any American willing o lisen

Jokowi elected as vanguard of change

In Ocober 2014 Jokowi became he presiden o Indonesia succeeding Susilo

Bambang Yudhoyono who sepped down afer a consiuionally limied wo erms in

office2 Tis ransiion o power demonsraes he exraordinary progress Indonesia has

made since he bloody end o auhoriarian Presiden Suharorsquos 33-year reign in 19983

In deeaing Prabowo Subiano a scion o he Jakara esablishmen Jokowirsquos elecion

also marked a repudiaion o business as usual I was Jokowirsquos down-o-earh credenials

and poliical-ousider persona ha appealed o voers wary o he influence o poliical

elies who susain a culure o ren-seeking and paronage Despie his relaively limied

experience99125210 years ago he was a urniure salesman and hree years ago he was

mayor o a small ciy991252Jokowi was seen as a reormer capable o improving he lives o

average Indonesians despie a poliical environmen dominaed by money poliics His

rags-o-riches sory and personal undersanding o he challenges acing ens o millions

o Indonesians brough hope ha he could be a new ype o Indonesian poliical leader4




In he broader conex o Asiarsquos poliical culure i was noable ha Jokowi ran as a

progressive and won amid a sea o conservaive Indonesian poliical elies and leaders

hroughou Eas Asia A principal hrus o Jokowirsquos campaign message was he need

o reduce inequaliy in Indonesia by invesing in healh care and educaion o help

level he playing field or low-income Indonesians He has been able o make progress

on his ron Some o his firs acs as presiden were o phase ou uel subsidies hadisproporionaely benefied he rich and o redirec he savings o educaion and healh

care or he poor5 Jokowi also ran as a clean reormer and afer gaining office he ook

he unprecedened sep o veting his cabine choices wih Indonesiarsquos Corrupion

Eradicaion Commission6 While Jokowirsquos ambiious plans o rapidly improve inra-

srucure largely have ye o maerialize a key underlying principle o his vision is

o increase conneciviy hroughou he Indonesian archipelago and hereby reduce

inequaliy beween relaively prosperous Java and Sumara in he wes and he poorer

islands in he eas7

Headwinds

Unorunaely Jokowirsquos elecion came wih unreasonable expecaions given srong

headwinds or Indonesiarsquos economy and Jokowirsquos relaive lack o saure wih he coun-

ryrsquos poliical and business elie

While largely ou o Jokowirsquos conrol he economy has no done well during his enure

His 12 monhs in power have coincided wih a slowing Chinese economy and a relaed

decline in prices o he commodiies ha had ueled 6 percen annual gross domesic

produc or GDP growh in Indonesia rom 2010 o 20138

As a resul GDP growhhas slowed o 47 percen9 and unmasked deep underlying problems in he Indonesian

economy including an underdeveloped manuacuring secor10 While atracing oreign

invesmen has been a major prioriy or Jokowi inernaional invesors have remained

wary o Indonesiarsquos regulaory environmen bureaucraic red ape and lenghy negaive

invesmen lis o is credi he Jokowi adminisraion has been ocused on improving

licensing procedures and oher barriers o enry bu i remains o be seen wheher inves-

ors will respond Te Indonesian rupiah alling o is lowes level since he 1997ndash1998

Asian financial crisis has added o difficulies11

A highly complex poliical environmen has also been a drag on Jokowirsquos policy agenda

Despie winning 53 percen o he voe12 his pary991252he Indonesian Democraic Pary

o Sruggle or PDI-P991252only conrols 19 percen o parliamen seas13 and is hereore in

a coaliion wih five oher paries each o which holds cabine posiions Even wihin his

own pary Jokowi wields only moderae influence wih ormer Presiden and curren

pary Chairwoman Megawai Sukarnopuri calling he shos and effecively conrol-

ling several minisers14 Vice Presiden Jusu Kalla who was chosen by he pary is ye




anoher power cener wih deeply enrenched personal ineress and srong ies o a

major opposiion pary15 In every relaionship Jokowi is he newcomer o Jakara ry-

ing o navigae a highly complex web o personal poliical and business alliances many

o which benefi rom business as usual

Given his complex poliical errain Jokowi undersood rom day one ha he would

need bureaucraic savvy and srong public backing in order o ge hings done Onhe bureaucraic ron Jokowi has been somewha successul paricularly in cenral-

izing decision-making16 However Jokowirsquos honeymoon wih he Indonesian public

was shor lived largely due o his reusal o sand up or he Corrupion Eradicaion

Commission991252previously he mos respeced insiuion in he counry991252when i

named a police general who Jokowi had nominaed o be naional chie o police a he

behes o Megawai a graf suspec17 Nine monhs laer Jokowirsquos approval raings have

marginally recovered bu many Indonesians now long or sronger leadership18

Jokowi and the world

Wih he worldrsquos ourh-larges populaion membership in he G-20 and de aco lead-

ership o he Associaion o Souheas Asian Naions or ASEAN Indonesia is a major

regional player wih global imporance Is example as a large Muslim-majoriy naion

wih a highly successul democracy 19 is an imporan demonsraion o he world o he

inheren compaibiliy beween Islam and democracy Under Yudhoyono Indonesia

emerged rom he ashes o he Asian financial crisis o become a key inernaional player

perhaps mos imporanly working successully o hold ASEAN ogeher when crises

hreaened o pull i apar20

Jokowirsquos clear ocus on domesic policy issues has creaed concerns inernaionally and

among Indonesiarsquos oreign policy elie ha he counry will urn inward and disconinue

is emergence as a major acor in he inernaional sysem Tis has come a a ime when

progress oward a diplomaic soluion o he Souh China Sea dispue and he Rohingya

migran crisis necessiae more ASEAN cohesion making Indonesian leadership more

imporan han ever Ye Jokowi has explicily downgraded he imporance o ASEAN

in Indonesian oreign policy and reused o call Indonesiarsquos leadership in ASEAN is op

oreign policy prioriy as i had been in he pas21 His appoinmen o Reno Marsudi991252a

Europe specialis chosen largely because Jokowi believes ha she undersands he con-

cerns o average Indonesians22 much like Jokowi himsel991252as miniser o oreign affairs

does no sugges an ambiious role or Indonesia in Asia aken ogeher many in he

inernaional communiy are concerned ha Indonesia migh no be able o play he role

o roubleshooer when problems arise as i ofen did when ormer Presiden Yudhoyono

and ormer Foreign Miniser Mary Naalegawa were a he helm23




In a break rom radiion Jokowi has se his sighs boh more broadly and more narrowly

in he conduc o oreign policy by prioriizing bilaeral relaions wih major powers wih

he overarching aim o achieving pracical gains or Indonesia Mos noably Jokowi has

ocused on increasing oreign invesmen in Indonesia paricularly in inrasrucure24

However coninued uncerainy in he regulaory environmen including concerns over

sae-invesor dispue setlemen issues25 have hampered invesmen realizaion

One major policy plaorm ha has inernaional implicaions is Jokowirsquos pledge o urn

Indonesia ino a ldquoglobal mariime ulcrumrdquo26 While his is primarily a domesic policy

iniiaive991252aimed a increasing conneciviy hroughou he Indonesian archipelago and

accruing more economic benefis rom Indonesian litoral waers991252i provides hope ha

Indonesia will play an increasingly prominen role in broader regional mariime affairs

US-Indonesia relations

US-Indonesia relaions are warm and growing having improved markedly in recen years Tis has paricularly been he case since Presidens Obama and ormer Presiden

Yudhoyono signed he US-Indonesia Comprehensive Parnership agreemen in 2010

which creaed an annual meeing beween he US secreary o sae and he Indonesian

oreign miniser and insiuionalized cooperaion beween he wo governmens

across a range o fields27 Presiden Obamarsquos and Presiden Yudhoyonorsquos deep personal

ineres in he relaionship991252parly he resul o significan ime spen in one anoherrsquos

counriesrsquo991252provided ballas o he relaionship during he five and a hal years he wo

overlapped in office Warm personal ies beween Obama and Jokowi which have been

plainly eviden in heir exchanges on he sidelines o several regional summis over he

pas year coninue o conribue o a posiive amosphere in bilaeral relaions28

Afer nearly 15 years o rozen miliary-miliary ies due o he Indonesian armed orcesrsquo

human righs abuses during he 1990s cooperaion on deense and securiy issues has

emerged as a highligh o bilaeral relaions wih dozens o annual miliary exercises

counererrorism and law enorcemen cooperaion and several US deense equipmen

sales o Indonesia29 On poliical securiy affairs he Unied Saes and Indonesia are

working closely ogeher in inernaional orums30 People-o-people ies are also grow-

ing and he Unied Saes and Indonesia have begun o work ogeher on economic

developmen projecs in hird counries such as Myanmar and Papua New Guinea31

Unorunaely economic ies have lagged behind wih bilaeral rade a only approxi-

maely $30 billion and rade policy a perennial issue o disagreemen32




Jokowi visits the White House

Presiden Jokowirsquos visi is se o produce numerous angible resuls racking closely

wih his mission o advance Indonesiarsquos saure as a mariime-cenric power mariime

cooperaion will be a he op o he agenda which will include a new agreemen on

coas guard cooperaion33 Deense indusry cooperaion will also be high on he lis

wih US firms ineresed in benefiing rom a growing deense budge and Indonesiaseeking o develop is own indigenous deense indusry34

Commercial deals may also be concluded which would be an imporan signal ha

recen reorms o he invesmen climae mean ha Indonesia is indeed open or busi-

ness35 I so his would breah new lie ino an economic relaionship ha lags behind

oher pars o he parnership

Wih deliverables nearly finalized Jokowi will now ocus on projecing an image o

himsel as a global leader wih a human ouch he one ha his supporers991252boh

Indonesian and inernaional991252have hoped he could be While ies beween he UniedSaes and Indonesia improved dramaically under Presiden Yudhoyono Presiden

Jokowirsquos personal charisma provides an opporuniy o demonsrae why he Unied

Saes and Indonesia share so much in common While i has been difficul or Jokowi o

mee he expecaions hrus on him by he 71 million Indonesians who voed or him

he represens heir collecive opimism and hope or a beter uure as well as a belie

ha one can rise rom povery o he presidency jus as he did I is hard o imagine a

more naural parner or he Unied Saes

Brian Harding is the Director for East and Southeast Asia for the National Security and

International Policy team at the Center for American Progress




Endnotes

1 The White House ldquoStatement by the Press Secretary on theVisit of President Joko Widodo of Indonesiardquo Press releaseSeptember 21 2015 available at httpjakartausembassygovnewswh_150921enhtml

2 Indonesian Const amend I art 7 available at httpcon-finderrichmondeduadmindocsIndonesia1stpdf (lastaccessed October 2015)

3 Joe Cochrane ldquoIn Southeast Asia Indonesia Is an UnlikelyRole for Democracyrdquo The New York Times September 42014 available at httpwwwnytimescom20140905worldasiain-southeast-asia-indonesia-becomes-a-role-model-for-democracyhtml

4 Ross Tapsell ldquoThe Jokowi Phenomenonrdquo Inside Story January16 2014 available at httpinsidestoryorgauthe-jokowi-phenomenon

5 The Economist ldquoA good scraprdquo January 10 2015 available athttpwwweconomistcomnewsasia21638179-jokowi-abandons-wasteful-fuel-subsidies-fiscal-prospects-bright-en-good-scrap

6 Novy Lumanauw and Ezra Sihite ldquoJokowi Strikes EightNames From Cabinet Line-Up After KPK Red Flagrdquo JakartaGlobe October 22 2014 available at httpjakartaglobeberitasatucomnewsjokowi-strikes-eight-names-cabinet-

line-kpk-red-flag

7 Linda Yulisman ldquoJokowi renews commitment to eastern In-donesiardquo The Jakarta Post May 26 2015 available at httpwwwthejakartapostcomnews20150526jokowi-renews-commitment-eastern-indonesiahtml

8 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentldquoOECD Economic Surveys I ndonesiardquo (2015) availableat httpwwwoecdorgecosurveysOverview-Indone-sia-2015pdf

9 The World Bank ldquoIndonesia Economic Quarterly July2015 Slower Gainsrdquo July 8 2015 available at httpwwwworldbankorgennewsfeature20150708indonesia-economic-quarterly-july-2015

10 The World Bank ldquoPicking up the Pace Reviving Growth in In-donesiarsquos Manufacturing Sectorrdquo (2012) available at httpwwwworldbankorgcontentdamWorldbankdocument

Indonesia-ExecSum-Manufacturing-ENGpdf

11 Patturaja Murugaboopathy ldquoRupiah woes Clock ticking forunhedged Indonesian companiesrdquo Reuters May 20 2015available at httpwwwreuterscomarticle20150520in-donesia-markets-rupiah-hedging-idUSL3N0YB2IJ20150520

12 Yenni Kwok ldquoWith the Election of Joko Widodo IndonesiaWrites a New Chapterrdquo Time July 23 2014 available athttptimecom3020999indonesia-joko-widodo-jokowi-declared-president

13 Joe Cochrane ldquoEarly Count in Indonesia Favors Largest Op-position Partyrdquo The New York Times April 9 2014 available athttpwwwnytimescom20140410worldasiaIndonesia-electionshtml

14 Anita Rachman and Ben Otto ldquoMegarsquos Message to JokowiIrsquom the Bossrdquo The Wall Street Journal April 11 2015 availableat httpblogswsjcomindonesiarealtime20150411megas-message-to-jokowi-im-the-boss

15 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ldquoIndonesian presi-dential frontrunner Jokowi picks ex-vice president Kallaas running materdquo May 19 2014 available at httpwwwabcnetaunews2014-05-19an-indonesian-presidential-frontrunner-jokowi-picks-kalla-as-ru5462402

16 Ezra Sihite ldquoJokowirsquos Chief of Staff Given Even More Power-ful Rolerdquo Jakarta Globe March 2 2015 available at http jakartaglobeberitasatucomnewsjokowis-chief-staff-given-even-powerful-role

17 Catriona Croft-Cusworth ldquoThe honeymoon is over forJokowirdquo The Sydney Morning Herald July 11 2015 availableat httpwwwsmhcomaunationalthe-honeymoon-is-over-for-jokowi-20150709-gi98ughtml

18 Saiful Muljani Research and Consulting ldquoSMRC TingkatKepuasan Publik terhadap Jokowi Masih MencerminkanSuara PilPres 2014rdquo October 20 2015 available at httpwwwsaifulmujanicomblog20151020smrc-tingkat-kepuasan-publik-terhadap-jokowi-masih-mencerminkan-suara-pilpres-2014

19 Drew DeSilver ldquoWorldrsquos Muslim population morewidespread than you might thinkrdquo Pew Research CenterJune 7 2013 available at httpwwwpewresearchorgfact-tank20130607worlds-muslim-population-more-widespread-than-you-might-think

20 Bagus BT Saragih ldquoRI finds common ASEAN ground in seadisputerdquo The Jakarta Post July 23 2012 available at httpwwwthejakartapostcomnews20120723ri-finds-com-mon-asean-ground-sea-disputehtml

21 The Economist ldquoA thousand jilted friendsrdquo May 2 2015 avail-able at httpwwweconomistcomnewsasia21650173-new-president-charts-markedly-different-course-thousand- jilted-friends

22 Erwida Maulia ldquoIndonesiarsquos Foreign Policy Turns DomesticUnder Jokowirdquo Jakarta Globe December 10 2014 availableat httpjakartaglobeberitasatucomnewsindonesias-foreign-policy-turns-domestic-jokowi

23 Prashanth Parameswaran ldquoIs Indonesia Turning Away FromASEAN Under Jokowirdquo The Diplomat December 18 2014available at httpthediplomatcom201412is-indonesia-turning-away-from-asean-under-jokowi

24 President Joko Widodo ldquoFull Speech Jokowi at APEC CEOSummit 2014rdquo Rappler November 10 2014 availableat httpwwwrapplercomworldregionsasia-pacificindonesia74620-full-speech-joko-widodo-apec-summit-beijing

25 Office of the US Trade Representative ldquoInvestor-StateDispute Settlement (ISDS)rdquo available at httpsustrgovabout-uspolicy-officespress-officefact-sheets2015marchinvestor-state-dispute-settlement-isds (last accessedOctober 2015)

26 Rendi A Witular ldquoJokowi launches maritime doctrine to theworldrdquo The Jakarta Post November 13 2014 available athttpwwwthejakartapostcomnews20141113jokowi-launches-maritime-doctrine-worldhtml

27 The White House ldquoThe US-Indonesia Comprehensive Part-nershiprdquo Press release June 27 2010 available at httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-officeus-indonesia-com-prehensive-partnership

28 Rendi A Witular ldquoObamarsquos unlikely question to JokowiHowrsquos Puncakrdquo The Jakarta Post November 11 2014 avail-able at httpwwwthejakartapostcomnews20141111obama-s-unlikely-question-jokowi-how-s-puncakhtml

29 ldquoTimeline US-Indonesia Relationsrdquo Contemporary Southeast Asia A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs 32 (3)(2010) 395ndash398 available at httpsmusejhuedujournalscontemporary_southeast_asia_a_journal_of_interna-tional_and_strategic_affairsv032323article01htm USDepartment of State ldquoUnited States-Indonesia Relatio nsrdquoPress release September 3 2012 available at httpwwwstategovrpaprsps201209197277htm




30 Robin Bush ldquoAs Host Indonesia Anticipates Obamarsquos FirstEast Asia Summitrdquo The Asia Foundation November 16 2011available at httpasiafoundationorgin-asia20111116as-host-indonesia-anticipates-obamas-first-east-asia-sum-mit

31 US Department of State ldquoUnited States and Indonesia SignSouth-South and Triangular Cooperation Memorandumof Understanding To Support Developing Countriesrdquo Pressrelease February 17 2014 available at httpwwwstategovrpaprsps201402221712htm

32 Office of the US Trade Representative ldquoIndonesiardquo availableat httpsustrgovcountries-regionssoutheast-asia-pacificindonesia (last accessed October 2015)

33 Authorrsquos conversations with Indonesian officials during adialogue held at the Center for American Progress Washing-ton DC October 7 2015

34 Ibid

35 Ibid




In he broader conex o Asiarsquos poliical culure i was noable ha Jokowi ran as a

progressive and won amid a sea o conservaive Indonesian poliical elies and leaders

hroughou Eas Asia A principal hrus o Jokowirsquos campaign message was he need

o reduce inequaliy in Indonesia by invesing in healh care and educaion o help

level he playing field or low-income Indonesians He has been able o make progress

on his ron Some o his firs acs as presiden were o phase ou uel subsidies hadisproporionaely benefied he rich and o redirec he savings o educaion and healh

care or he poor5 Jokowi also ran as a clean reormer and afer gaining office he ook

he unprecedened sep o veting his cabine choices wih Indonesiarsquos Corrupion

Eradicaion Commission6 While Jokowirsquos ambiious plans o rapidly improve inra-

srucure largely have ye o maerialize a key underlying principle o his vision is

o increase conneciviy hroughou he Indonesian archipelago and hereby reduce

inequaliy beween relaively prosperous Java and Sumara in he wes and he poorer

islands in he eas7

Headwinds

Unorunaely Jokowirsquos elecion came wih unreasonable expecaions given srong

headwinds or Indonesiarsquos economy and Jokowirsquos relaive lack o saure wih he coun-

ryrsquos poliical and business elie

While largely ou o Jokowirsquos conrol he economy has no done well during his enure

His 12 monhs in power have coincided wih a slowing Chinese economy and a relaed

decline in prices o he commodiies ha had ueled 6 percen annual gross domesic

produc or GDP growh in Indonesia rom 2010 o 20138

As a resul GDP growhhas slowed o 47 percen9 and unmasked deep underlying problems in he Indonesian

economy including an underdeveloped manuacuring secor10 While atracing oreign

invesmen has been a major prioriy or Jokowi inernaional invesors have remained

wary o Indonesiarsquos regulaory environmen bureaucraic red ape and lenghy negaive

invesmen lis o is credi he Jokowi adminisraion has been ocused on improving

licensing procedures and oher barriers o enry bu i remains o be seen wheher inves-

ors will respond Te Indonesian rupiah alling o is lowes level since he 1997ndash1998

Asian financial crisis has added o difficulies11

A highly complex poliical environmen has also been a drag on Jokowirsquos policy agenda

Despie winning 53 percen o he voe12 his pary991252he Indonesian Democraic Pary

o Sruggle or PDI-P991252only conrols 19 percen o parliamen seas13 and is hereore in

a coaliion wih five oher paries each o which holds cabine posiions Even wihin his

own pary Jokowi wields only moderae influence wih ormer Presiden and curren

pary Chairwoman Megawai Sukarnopuri calling he shos and effecively conrol-

ling several minisers14 Vice Presiden Jusu Kalla who was chosen by he pary is ye





































































































Endnotes







line-kpk-red-flag
































34 Ibid

35 Ibid





































































































Endnotes







line-kpk-red-flag
































34 Ibid

35 Ibid































































Endnotes







line-kpk-red-flag
































34 Ibid

35 Ibid




























Endnotes







line-kpk-red-flag
































34 Ibid

35 Ibid




Endnotes







line-kpk-red-flag
































34 Ibid

35 Ibid








34 Ibid

35 Ibid

Date post:	07-Aug-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	center-for-american-progress
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Jokowi’s Visit Will Highlight Why Indonesia Is a Natural U.S. Partner

Documents