Daftarsbmptn.com – Every country has national interests that can be pursued both domestically and internationally. To achieve national interests beyond national borders, foreign policy instruments are used.
Foreign policy reflects domestic conditions and is simultaneously influenced by dynamic changes in the regional and international environment. The foundation of Indonesia’s foreign policy is the first and fourth paragraphs of the 1945 Constitution, as well as Articles 11 and 13 of the 1945 Constitution.
So, what is Indonesia’s political outlook on the international stage? Read more information below.
According to the explanation on the Indonesian Cabinet Secretariat website, Indonesia’s political outlook on the international stage is independent and active. According to Professor of International Law Mochtar Kusumaatmadja, “independent” means that Indonesia does not side with any power that fundamentally contradicts the nation’s character.
Meanwhile, “active” means that Indonesia is not passive or reactive in implementing foreign policy. Instead, Indonesia actively promotes friendly relations and cooperation, both regionally and internationally.
Quoting the Core Material for Social Studies for Senior High School Grades 10, 11, and 12, compiled by the Maestro Genta Team, Indonesia’s independent and active foreign policy emerged during the Cold War between the Western Bloc (America) and the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union). At that time, Indonesia chose not to side with either bloc.
According to Moh. Hatta, Indonesia was also unwilling to form or interfere with a third bloc intended to balance these two giant blocs. This stance is called independent and active.
Indonesia pursues an independent and active foreign policy based on the country’s highest legal foundation, namely Pancasila and the constitutional foundation of the 1945 Constitution. Pancasila, as Indonesia’s ideological foundation, serves as a guideline for advancing national interests in international relations.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s national interests are generally stated in the 1945 Constitution, as follows:
- Protecting the entire Indonesian nation and its entire homeland;
- Promoting general welfare;
- Enhancing the nation’s intellectual life; and
- Participating in implementing a world order based on independence, eternal peace, and social justice.
The following are several examples of Indonesia’s implementation of an independent and active foreign policy, quoted from the book Core Material for Social Studies for Senior High School Grades 10, 11, and 12 by the Maestro Genta Team:
- Since the mid-1950s, Indonesia has initiated and implemented a number of crucial and monumental foreign policy initiatives, such as the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung in 1955.
- Participation in fostering solidarity among newly independent nations within the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) forum.
- Building good relations with the West and a “good neighborhood policy” through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
- Actively establishing ASEAN and utilizing the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
- State visits abroad by Abdurrahman Wahid.
- During the SBY era, Indonesia took the initiative to bridge conflicting parties.