In the last three years, there have been
a lot of seminars, workshops and panel discussions on the same topic,
namely the South China Sea.
At a domestic
level, Indonesia has held discussions on the South China Sea five times.
These discussions were not taken lightly. Even experts from developed
countries were invited to participate to provide more insight. The South
China Sea is a very popular issue that most everyone, including the
person on the street, has been talking about zealously.
The competing
claims in the South China Sea are not something new. The area borders a
great number of nations; naturally, it has been a long-standing source of
conflicts. Disputes over several competing claims for various parts of
the area are unlikely to be resolved within the short term.
There are a
number of reasons behind these claims. Take, for example, the dispute
over the Spratly Islands — an area comprising 45 islands, which has been
claimed in whole or in part by Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, The
Philippines and even Brunei Darussalam.
One could
imagine the scale of complications when dealing with such claims. Not to
mention China, which forwarded its bid on the islands based on claims
dating from the 15th century and the Ming Dynasty. So the potential for
conflict has been there all along. For decades, nations around the South
China Sea have used the issue of competing claims as a reason to prepare
their armies for battle.
One
interesting point is that in the past two or three years, discussion of
the claims have typically been followed by discussions of the US’
so-called Asia pivot. The US position has been affected by its economic
problems, to the extent that the two men campaigning to be president last
year put forward their differing views about China, either as a friend or
foe. This happened simultaneously with the emergence of China’s economic
power, which has consequently been accompanied by a massive increase in
China’s defense budget and defense capabilities.
The last
factor is a crucial, propelling the US to shift its attention to Asia
under the aegis of the pivot, which several observers have said was a
manifestation of US concerns on China’s growing influence and power.
Others, meanwhile, have opined that the pivot was driven by the trauma
caused by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. Thomas
Friedman even described the surprise attack as the origins of American military
failure.
Developments
were taken to a new level when reports surfaced about a potential
revitalization of the US’ former military bases at Clark Field and Subic
Bay in the Philippines, which some said would be done to bolster the US
defense position in Singapore.
The most
shocking reports have been that US Marines might be posted with US
military aircraft to Darwin, Australia, with the mission of natural
disaster management. This is absurd, as there has never been such a
precedent.
As if all
this news was not alarming enough, Indonesia has had the privilege to be
the recipient of a US grant for a huge number of American-made F-16 jet
fighters. This is an unthinkable “kindness”, as previously the Air Force
has had extreme difficulties in even getting spare parts for such fighter
aircraft. Other reports say that Indonesia will be granted C-130H
Hercules aircraft from Australia.
Meanwhile,
the US Congress’ unanimous approval of the purchase of AH-64 Apache
attack helicopters by the Indonesian Military (TNI) has added another
level of complication. A statement by the deputy defense minister that
the purchase was not done in response to a US offer but instead to
bolster the TNI’s defensive posture has stirred up the situation further.
Unconsciously
or not, can all these reports above be understood as part of the US pivot
to Asia? People are starting to wonder why now. Given that the South
China Sea has been a source of potential conflict for decades, why has
the US decided to act now? Is it due to American fears over Chinese
economic growth?
One thing for
sure, the locus of economic development has shifted, slowly but surely,
from the Atlantic to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The question for us
to answer is how can the South China Sea disputes benefit Indonesia,
economically or otherwise? ●
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