Indonesia must continue to strive toward an independent foreign and defense policy, avoid US-dominated military alliances in Southeast Asia, and work out the means to expand the purchase of Russian military equipment, Indonesian military and defense analyst Connie Rahakundini Bakrie believes.
“I think the threat is beginning not only because of this Ukraine and Russia [conflict over] the expansion of NATO, but actually started when [George W. Bush] mentioned the ‘coalition of the willing’ nations versus the ‘coalition of the unwilling’. So I think the world has to be reshaped, reshaped so that [there is a] ‘coalition of the superpower willing’ versus the ‘coalition of the common good of the world willing’,” Bakrie told Sputnik in an exclusive interview.
The observer said that the latter group of countries have been “frustrated” by a situation where the nations of the so-called ‘golden billion’ “can control almost seven billion,” while “economies of $40 trillion can control the economies of $740 trillion.”
Bakrie slammed US officials over their “double standard” of talking about the dangers of growing global militarization while themselves engaging in such activities in the Asia-Pacific region.
The observer also criticized the size, scope and locations of the ongoing Super Garuda Shield military drills between the US and Indonesia, which also involved Japanese troops and observers from over half-a-dozen US allies and partners in Asia and around the world.
“I think it’s very dangerous. But it’s done. So what I’m now suggesting my government do does is, then we have to do something with Russia, we have to do something with China. We have to do something aside from the US. Because then somehow we are going to balance that,” she said, adding that if the US holds drills off western Indonesia, Russia or China could do so in the east.
Bakrie expressed hopes that Moscow and Jakarta could ramp up cooperation on weapons sales, saying Indonesia’s history has proven that relying on the West alone can be “dangerous.”
“With Russia of course we are really dying to do that. I just spoke to the ambassador of Russia in Indonesia. The biggest issue is that we don’t have a transfer mechanism, the financing mechanism, because we haven’t yet joined the new SWIFT [alternative] system made by Russia,” she said. Pointing out that 46 countries have signed onto the Russian System for Transfer of Financial Messages, Bakrie emphasized that Jakarta should step up its own effort to join as soon as possible.
Dr. Muhammad Athar Javed, director of Pakistan House, an international affairs think tank, concurred with his Indonesian colleague’s assessment on Russia ties, suggesting that the secret to Moscow’s success is its non-aggressive approach to forging relations with regional nations.
“Russia is an important country for the Middle East, for South Asia, and especially for Pakistan…Russia has created a hope for South Asian countries that the US and NATO forces cannot impose their will on political decision-making, on defense, on security,” the observer said in an interview.
Pointing to the string of US aggression in the Middle East, South Asia and Afghanistan in recent decades, Dr. Javed pointed out that Moscow has not followed in Washington's footsteps on this account, "reversing" the trend in the interests of mutual cooperation and trade.
"Russia is also engaged and facilitating the Taliban,* for example. They also talk to them because they want, as President Putin said – I remember last year, when I asked him a question in Valdai [Discussion Club] – he said, 'we want to facilitate and help to establish a peace in Afghanistan.' That was not the intention of the US when they entered. And that makes a great difference for Russia to play a positive role in South Asia. And that's why Asia, Eurasia and these aspects have become much more important foreign policy and defense policy elements for Russia," the observer noted.
Dr. Javed expressed hope that Russia would take the lead in "positive engagement" with South Asia via an agenda pursuing peace, economic and trade relations, including via currency-to-currency trade without the involvement of the US dollar.
* An Afghani militant group under United Nations for terrorist activities.