January 9, 2025
JAKARTA – With the official acceptance of Indonesia as a full member of BRICS on Monday, President Prabowo Subianto is one step closer to realizing his ambition to make Indonesia an influential player at the global level.
Nothing is wrong with such an aspiration, given that Indonesia is the world’s 16th largest economy, third largest democracy and fourth most populous nation, whose voice deserves respect.
While we agree that joining a group of emerging countries like BRICS will increase Indonesia’s leverage, we also want to remind the President about its consequences, especially concerning increasing trade and military tensions between China and the United States. Donald Trump, who will return to the White House later this month, has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on BRICS if the group continues its dedollarization plan, an aim which has attracted more countries to join.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced Indonesia’s admission in his capacity as this year’s chair of the group. President Prabowo is expected to attend its summit in Rio de Janeiro in July, where member countries will discuss the “development of means of payment” to facilitate trade between them.
Indonesia greeted its full membership in BRICS on Tuesday, hailing the development as “a strategic step” in fostering cooperation among the Global South to promote a “just and peaceful” world.
Prabowo’s predecessor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, was known for his reluctance to join the club as he deemed it an organization whose main objective was to weaken the US. Unlike Jokowi, Prabowo believes his government can reap economic benefits from BRICS, although the international community perceives it as a group driven by political, rather than economic interests.
In reality, at least so far, BRICS has not achieved tangible results for its members. Apart from the establishment of the New Development Bank, a multilateral bank dominated by China’s money, the bloc has remained unable to prove its pledge to reduce dependence on the US.
Founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, BRICS now has 10 full members. After Indonesia, three other ASEAN member countries, namely Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, look set to join as well.
Malaysia under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is one good example of a developing nation that has maintained good relations with Russia and China, while winning huge investments from US Big Tech players, such as Apple, Microsoft and Elon Musk.
Prabowo has opted to advance a good neighbor policy under the auspices of the country’s free and active foreign policy. Apart from BRICS, Indonesia engages in various multilateral organizations, such as ASEAN, the Group of 20 (G20), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the binding 15-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Cooperation (RCEP) trade bloc.
Indonesia has also applied for membership in other organizations, including the Japan and Australia-led Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). While BRICS aims to resist the US’ dominance, the main objective of CCTPP, originally named TPP, is to counterbalance China’s economic hegemony.
CPTPP is a trade agreement that liberalizes trade and investment among 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific. The US withdrew from the bloc. China applied in 2021, but has not received approval until now.
Indonesia has also begun the process of its accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which was seen as a move to adhere to Western economic and trade principles to gain wider access to the global supply chain.
Lest we forget, the primary goal of free and active diplomacy is to serve national interests, especially in the economic, political and security fields. It is imperative to acknowledge the potential pitfalls associated with the pursuit of international outspokenness, particularly when such actions may compromise the national interest by placing Indonesia in a precarious position amid the complex dynamics of global power rivalries.
While we hope that Indonesia can pursue the benefits from BRICS and other multilateral organizations, it must also be ready for all of the consequences. As the old Indonesian saying goes, “you can get burned by playing with fire and wet by playing with water.”