From Sukarno to Subianto

India and Indonesia are among the largest Asian countries. They are also maritime neighbours. The two countries have enjoyed cultural and commercial contacts for millenniums. As newly independent countries in the 1940s, after suffering the ravages of colonialism, their leaders sought to eschew power-bloc politics. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Indonesian President Sukarno enjoyed good relations at that stage. Indonesia’s nationalist leaders declared independence in 1945 but the Dutch, who were the colonial power in Indonesia, refused to accept it and tried to re-establish their rule.

Newly independent India fully supported the Indonesian nationalists and opposed the Dutch attempt to make Indonesia a colony again. In 1949 the Dutch accepted Indonesian independence. In this background of intense relations at that time it was only appropriate that Sukarno, who was the acknowledged leader of his people, became the Chief Guest at the celebration of India’s first Republic Day in 1950. Seventy-five years later the present Indonesian leader, President Prabowo Subianto, was welcomed in India as Chief Guest to this year’s Republic Day celebrations.

The wheel of the bilateral relationship thus turned full circle. However, the past seven and half decades witnessed periods of warmth, bitterness and indifference. The bitterness was sharp in the decades of the 1960s when Indonesia became hostile to India and close to Pakistan and China. But that period is now past and both countries realise that they have much to gain from each other. The Modi-Prabowo talks during the visit reveal their intention to impart a new energy and momentum to bilateral ties. Before the areas of cooperation are considered a brief word on how Prabowo charmed his hosts.

At the state banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu in Prabowo’s honour the Indonesian President said “A few weeks ago I had my genetic sequencing test and my DNA test and they told me that I have Indian DNA. Everybody knows when I hear Indian music, I start dancing”. He went on to add “India and Indonesia have a long, ancient history together. We have civilizational links, even now a very important part of our language comes from Sanskrit. Many names of Indonesia are actually Sanskrit names and in our daily life, the influence of ancient Indian civilization is very strong. I think it’s also part of our genetics”.

It is interesting that both Malaysians and Indonesians are part of the larger Malay world. The Malay people turned Muslims through, it is believed, their contact with Muslim traders from India. Both retain many bureaucratic terms of Sanskrit origin. However, while the Malaysians are shy to acknowledge their old culture derived from India, the Indonesians, especially in the island of Java, where the capital Jakarta is located, celebrate their culture derived from India. This is what Prabowo also indicated. This writer recalls he had during his posting in Kuala Lumpur in the early 1990s visited the Indonesian embassy to attend the country’s national day celebrations. He saw a series of twelve paintings depicting scenes from the Ramayana in the main reception hall of the Embassy. The Indonesians, at that time, saw no contradiction in their Islamic faith and part of their cultural traditions derived from ancient India. That is a sign of a confident people.

Both India and Indonesia as also other Indo-Pacific countries have to contend with the aggressive rise of China. Each Indo-Pacific country is attempting to also navigate its way through the grave differences that have emerged-- and which only grow--between China and the globe’s established pre-eminent power, the United States. The current world order goes back to the global system that came about after the Second World War and was to protect its victors. Ironically, these powers took on the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security but the fact is that whenever their interests were threatened they simply ignored the rules of the game they themselves had established.

Now, China which really had no role in defeating the Axis Powers but got a permanent seat and veto powers in the United Nations Security Council nevertheless is flexing its muscles in the Indo-Pacific region. The regional countries are opposed to such Chinese conduct especially in respect of its claims in the South China Sea. The Modi-Prabowo joint statement stressed this, if indirectly. It stated “Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and other lawful uses of the seas, including unimpeded lawful maritime commerce and to promote peaceful resolutions of disputes, in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, and the relevant standards and recommended practices by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). In this regard, they supported the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety and look forward to the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS”.

The joint statement covered details of the wide area of bilateral cooperation. In this respect it stated “Prime Minister Modi and President Prabowo held comprehensive discussions covering the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation, including political, defence and security, maritime, economic, health and pharmaceuticals, food and energy security, digital transition, sustainable energy transition, blue economy as well as education and cultural cooperation. They expressed satisfaction with the robust and dynamic bilateral ties, following the elevation of the relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2018”.

Now it is for the establishments of the two countries to translate the vision of their leaders into reality.