Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is famous for his state visits and bolstering bilateral relations through soft-power diplomacy. He is now scheduled to visit Indonesia late this month, where strengthening maritime security cooperation could be in the limelight.
It was earlier expected that Modi would follow the path of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who during his first state visit to Indonesia to meet Sukarno had featured three port cities, as he sailed into the country on board INS Delhi in June 1950. Modi’s first stop in the upcoming visit was supposed to be Sabang, a port city in Sumatra.
But according to various sources in the Indonesian government, the Sabang trip might be canceled because of bad weather conditions. His first stop will now be Jakarta.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Indonesian President Joko Widodo during a joint press statement at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on December 12, 2016. Photo: PTI/Subhav Shukla
Nevertheless, Modi will discuss developing a seaport in Aceh province, which is only 80 nautical miles from India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This plan falls under the purview of India’s dynamic Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative and maintaining peace and stability in the region.
Ahead of Modi’s visit, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for maritime affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, visited India to talk over bilateral cooperation in the maritime sphere. In a public lecture at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library hosted by the Embassy of Indonesia in India, he shed light on Indonesia’s maritime policy and how India and Indonesia can cooperate in this sector.
Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Panjaitan delivers a lecture at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. Photo courtesy of Indonesian Embassy in India
The former military officer, who is a stalwart in Indonesian politics, stressed the fact that in spite of Indonesia being an archipelagic state, it had never cared for the maritime sphere. It was only after the unveiling of the Global Maritime Fulcrum (GMF) by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in November 2014 that Indonesia positioned itself as a potent competitor in determining the future discourse of Pacific and Indian Ocean region.
Luhut added: “India and Indonesia now have a duty to advance maritime security cooperation for counterterrorism and anti-piracy operations.”
Later, he met the Indian minister of shipping, Nitin Gadkari, and they discussed a broad spectrum of issues that encompassed developing a cruise tourism circuit between the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Indonesia, memoranda of understanding between Indian Maritime University and Indonesian institutes for maritime studies, enhancing shipping linkages between the two countries, training on lighthouse technology, development of navigational aids and others.
Cooperation for developing non-conventional fuels such as compressed natural gas and methanol for ships was also highlighted in the dialogue.
Modi is expected to talk about strengthening security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region with the support of the “Quadrilateral,” a security partnership comprising India, Japan, the US and Australia. Since Indonesia is not a part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, pledging support could uncover new vistas for the largest Southeast Asian country in the sectors of maritime and defense security.
In addition to these, other issues on the table could be sharing intelligence information and military expertise on terrorism, thwarting prevalent extremism, cybersecurity, counterterrorism efforts, curbing transnational organized crime, technical cooperation on railway and space technology, and strategies to contain China’s hegemonic spheres of influence in the region.
It is anticipated that Modi will pay a visit to majestic 9th-century monuments in Indonesia, the Hindu Prambanan temple and the largest Buddhist temple in the world Borobudur, both located near Yogyakarta, Central Java. That will put Indonesia in the right place at the right time to utilize cultural diplomacy and promote socio-cultural cooperation.
Prambanan Temple. Photo: Wikipedia
Borobudur Temple. Photo: Wikipedia
Indonesia in recent times has displayed unflinching support for Indian interests because of their dynamic Act East Policy and rising stature in international order. When Widodo visited Pakistan in January this year, he didn’t agree with Pakistan’s proposal of including a clause on “accusing India of crimes against humanity in Kashmir” while he was addressing a joint sitting of Parliament.
Also, Indonesia has audaciously supported India’s stand on the Kashmir issue at meetings of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which could prove to be a major catalyst for burgeoning relations between India and Indonesia.
While Widodo has visited India twice, first on a state visit in December 2016, and then in January this year during the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit, this will be Modi’s first official state visit to Indonesia.
Indonesian foreign-policy experts such as Gustavo Mendiolaza and Cherika Hardjakusumah have noted that Indonesia in contemporary times has revamped its foreign-policy vision and now reckons India as a major strategic partner that provides a plethora of economic opportunities.
The mind-boggling question in front of India and Indonesia is: Can they revive their deep-rooted historical linkages and move further? Modi’s visit will answer this.
Indonesia means Indian Islands in Greek. Just like Micronesia means small islands and Polynesia means many islands. Hindu traders brought Hindu culture to Indonesia in the 7th century. Former President Sukarno’s mother was a Hindu lady from Bali. His daughter who was President of Indonesia about a decade ago has a Hindu name: Dewi Sukarnoputri and lives and is retired in Bali. Bali which is predominately Hindu has the most tourist visitors from the whole world and earns and creates jobs for more than a million Indonesians.. Former President Obama lived in Indonesia with his mum and Indonesian step father and visited and stayed in Bali recently. Bhasa Indonesia is influenced by Sanskrit ( Bumi=Earth or Ground). When I visited both Indonesia and Thailand as a Hindu I felt very much at home there. You feel the Hindu culture all over Indonesia including JAVA and Sumatra. In Bali a Mahatma Gandhi Private High School was opened when I visited the island. Indonesi aand India have historical links including religion and culture. Dont forget the Indian leaders like Gandhi and Nehru supported Indonesia independence struggle.