DANCING WITH GIANTS: INDONESIA AND ITS INCLUSIVE APPROACH IN THE INDO-PACIFIC AFTER BRICS ACCEPTANCE

Abstract

The growing multipolarity in global politics has prompted emerging powers to utilise regional and international organisations as strategic tools to navigate major power rivals. This article investigates how Indonesia uses an inclusive approach in the Indo-Pacific through its membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and BRICS and its membership proposal for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) amid the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China in the Indo-Pacific region. This study addresses the key question of how Indonesia capitalises on ASEAN leadership and BRICS membership to enhance its OECD membership proposal and geopolitical standing. The investigation is anchored on neorealism in analysing regional power dynamics in the Indo-Pacific as Indonesia’s response through its inclusive approach. This study employed qualitative research methods. The findings suggest that Indonesia’s foreign policy doctrine of Bebas Aktif (independent and active) is not only aligned with, but also acts as a pivotal influence on ASEAN’s inclusivity principles under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Under these circumstances, Indonesia and other ASEAN members (AMS) engage in soft economic alliances, including BRICS and OECD, as a balancing act between the US and China. Additionally, Indonesia’s BRICS membership enhances its bargaining power to pursue OECD membership, while maintaining cooperative relationships with the United States and its allies. This study contributes to understanding how emerging powers exercise dual alignment as a balancing act by using multilateral platforms to assert their influence and achieve strategic objectives in a multipolar world.