Indonesia, Prabowo, and BRICS

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/7/indonesia-joins-brics-group-of-emerging-economies

Even as the US seeks to expand its Eastern footprint and re-establish and strengthen military ties with Indonesia - the new Prabowo regime is seeking a path of triangulation.

A close ally of the United States through much of the Cold War, the relationship waned in the 2000's as Indonesia took a back seat in terms of US strategy and regional concerns. With the rise of China, the US attempted to rekindle the relationship in the 2010's and yet there were some in Indonesia that remained wary. After all the last time the US intervened in Indonesia there was a genocide resulting in around a million deaths and the country was saddled with over thirty years of dictatorship.

But the Jakarta Establishment has in recent years decided to move closer to Washington as it cannot compete with China and Prabowo's electoral success also signals this. But at the same time Prabowo is clearly seeking a path of triangulation. The US is unstable and about to enter a new stage of instability and unpredictability. As such he's decided to complete the BRICS application and has thrown in with the bloc - undoubtedly to the disappointment and frustration of Washington. The move represents a case of Indonesia being emboldened by the feckless policy and politics of Washington and the weakness it has produced.
But you won't hear about this in the mainstream media and particularly within the Right. On Evangelical radio channels they have praised Trump's election and argue it is already bringing a new sense of stability to the world. They are of course delusional and utterly deceived. The angst is apparent as corporate and world leaders are rushing to Mar-a-Lago to try and prepare for what's coming and in some cases (such as Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Argentina's Javier Milei) to express obeisance and submission.

Prabowo is fully aware that the US knows his story - after all they backed him and trained him. He's a war criminal that led death squads in East Timor and massacres in Papua. As Suharto's son-in-law his position was privileged and he played an important if violent role in the support of the dictatorship which only ended with Suharto's removal in 1998.

The US and its media machine will (at the drop of a hat) turn against him and shamelessly expose this history - sans the US participation and support. We've seen it many times before with figures like Saddam Hussein, Manuel Noriega, Ferdinand Marcos, and others.

Prabowo undoubtedly knows this and as such is unwilling to place all his eggs in the American basket. Washington (especially under Trump) cannot be trusted. If Trump will happily take down allies (like Trudeau) what will he do to leaders of 'shithole' countries like Indonesia - places he doesn't care about?

A BRICS membership gives Indonesia some options and leverage. America will have to woo Jakarta to keep them on board. And if Washington pulls the plug and turns against him, Prabowo can easily flip sides and embrace the wider BRICS ideology and perhaps even something like Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

See also:

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2024/02/spawn-of-cia-and-son-of-suharto.html

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2017/11/indonesia-forgotten-genocide-by-proxy.html

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2018/05/indonesia-caught-in-great-game.html

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2022/01/indonesian-air-power-and-balance-of.html