How Belt Road Initiative Influence Indonesia Position in ASEAN Economic Community? : Joko Widodo Leadership Style Analysis
This short analysis will be focused on Indonesia’s relationship with China in the context of the BRI (Belt Road Initiative) and BRI’s correlation with the relationship between Indonesia and ASEAN. These analyses will be conducted on the level of the individual in which we will use Jokowi as our basis. Furthermore, I will focus on analyzing how Jokowi perceives China on its way to fulfilling Indonesia’s national interest, and for this matter, I will also analyze ASEAN as a comparison unit to see whether Indonesia’s relations with China have side effects on Indonesia’s relations with ASEAN.
What is Belt Road Initiative (BRI)?
BRI or Belt Road Initiative initially called Silk Road Initiative is created by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 with the goal to advance the global economy by nurturing trade, cultural, and technological exchanges among Eurasian countries. To achieve this massive goal, the government of China in the last 6 years has vigorously promoted infrastructure development, such as highways, railways, and other transportation channels to foster trade and enhance logistics networks among involved countries. Currently, there are roughly 60 countries that exhibit their fascination with the BRI and all of them constitute more than half of the global population and approximately one-third of the global GDP. Basically, by creating this ambitious initiative, The President of China, Xi Jinping, hopes that BRI will boost China’s economy through trading activities between China and participating countries.
Indonesia — China Relationship in ‘Jokowi’ Era
Indonesia relations with China has always been intricate since the start of these diplomatic ties in 1950, and similar to what happened in other countries, diplomatic relations with China affect domestic concern because of the considerable influence of Chinese-Indonesians. Domestic affairs are usually counted as the main factor that influences Indonesia’s foreign policy, and the current event of the rise of China sparks a debate between public and elite opinions, which can be interpreted as both a threat and a chance of opportunity. Now under Joko Widodo or popularly known as Jokowi Presidency, Indonesia relations with China have been increasingly getting closer, especially in the economic sector. Undoubtedly, this harmony also brings criticism toward Jokowi leadership because of the rise of dependence on China.
Analysis and Discussion
Before I began to analyze, there are three questions that can determine his leadership that will be discussed:
1. How did Joko Widodo react to political constraints in the political environment?
2. How does Joko Widodo receive incoming information?
3. What are Joko Widodo’s reasons for seeking a position in BRI?
President Joko Widodo in the first period conveyed one of the problems in Indonesia, namely the declining state authority and Jokowi’s agenda in dealing with this was by increasing Indonesia’s bargaining position. He tries to follow and continue what the previous president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), has been doing with Indonesia’s foreign policy during his presidency. It also can be observed that SBY works in harmonizing the relations between Indonesia and China, which has been continued by Jokowi during his presidency. So, it can be safely inferred that Jokowi is a leader who respects constraints in his leadership.
Based on his address on KIP or Indonesia’s Central Information Commission, the openness of Jokowi to information is noticeable, in his speech, he said “We are currently in a new era where the pattern of relations between the government and the people has changed. The people [now] want transparency and information disclosure; people want dialogue and an interactive relationship between the government and the public. People want a government that is quick to respond to their complaints”. It was then proven that Jokowi tended to be open and listen to public opinion which resulted in him solving problems in the field.
It can be regarded as an effort to resolve the existing problems, Jokowi uses BRI as one of the steps to make Indonesia a country that plays an important role in BRI. During his meeting at the Belt and Road Forum International Summit 2017 in Beijing, Jokowi expressed that the BRI will advance the economic relations between Indonesia and China, especially because Indonesia tends to focus more on infrastructure development, connectivity, and the maritime sector as a major milestone. This statement is indicated by how much he prioritizes maintaining a relationship which in this case is China.
So, from all the answered question, we can sum it up that Jokowi are respecting constraint, open to information, and motivated to maintain a relationship. Therefore, according to Margarett Hermann concept of leadership style, Jokowi style of leadership is accommodative. As an accommodative leader, Jokowi will tend to try to reconcile differences, trying to build consensus, empower others, and sharing accountability in his leadership.
References
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