‘Resilience’ is Indonesia’s new foreign policy buzzword, but is it just rhetoric?

Indonesia has placed “resilience” at the heart of its foreign policy this year, pitching it as a way to keep the country from being buffeted by intensifying rivalry among the world’s major powers.But analysts say the concept, though rhetorically appealing, lacks clear objectives and a long-term strategy – running the risk of Jakarta’s diplomacy becoming more transactional and drifting away from its stated values of non-alignment, multilateralism and respect for international law.In his annual foreign policy statement on January 14, Foreign Minister Sugiono said Indonesia must build a “resilient” diplomacy to avoid being “swept away” in an increasingly “harsh, competitive and unpredictable” world.“In an uncertain world, only a nation that is strong at home will have leverage abroad,” he said in the statement setting out the country’s diplomatic priorities for the year.“This is what I mean by resilient diplomacy: a diplomacy that is not reactive, but adaptive, as a fundamental pillar of Indonesia’s foreign policy.”Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono delivers his annual press statement in Jakarta on January 14. Photo: AFPSugiono said defence and economic cooperation would play a major role in building that resilience, highlighting recent foreign policy milestones including new defence accords with key partners.