Not just another ‘BRICS’ in the wall

President Prabowo Subianto surprised the nation when he announced a few days after his inauguration in October that Indonesia was joining BRICS, a global forum championed by China, Russia and India.  

There were questions then about what we would get out of another multilateral forum, what contribution we give and what would make joining it worth our while. Either way, the last thing we want is for Indonesia to become just another brick in the wall.

President Prabowo’s debut at the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro this week may address some of the burning questions surrounding why he made such a hasty decision to join the group, which represented an abrupt change in Indonesia’s foreign policy.

Indonesia shares BRICS’ main agenda in seeking to reform the global economic and financial structures that are currently seen by most as unfair and unjust. Prabowo’s predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, on many occasions, criticized the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for representing more the interests of the West and not the global majority.

We also share an interest in BRICS’ campaign to reduce international trade’s heavy reliance on the United States dollar, although not for a complete “de-dollarization”.  Even before joining BRICS, some efforts in this direction have already started within ASEAN.

These are BRICS’ main objectives that Indonesia can easily subscribe to, for they serve our national interests. It makes perfectly common sense for Indonesia to join.

One agenda that Indonesia, as the 11th and newest member, does not share is in turning BRICS into an anti-West alliance which some original members, particularly China and Russia, are trying to steer. The combination of Indonesia, India, Brazil and South Africa within BRICS should be enough to resist any attempt by the two big members to turn BRICS into their weapon in the ongoing big powers rivalry.

If we are looking for early deliverables, joining the New Development Bank, which is BRICS’ financial arm, will give Indonesia a new access to development funding as an alternative to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and aid from foreign governments.

More than the question of money, BRICS can be a powerful tool for Indonesia in exercising its non-aligned,  independent and active foreign policy principles.  Indonesia together with other middle powers within BRICS should fight off the current pressure towards the polarization of the global geopolitical landscape. Indonesia should use its power and influence to continue to promote a multipolar world.

This was indeed one of the primary goals that Prabowo stated in explaining why we are joining BRICS, as he also mentioned that Indonesia is also in the process of joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).  

The only reason why we are already in BRICS is because of the low entry barrier, compared to the other two forums. Indonesia was given an easy passage, earlier than other countries like Thailand and Malaysia that applied to become members at the same time, at the insistence of Russia.  

We should take this as recognition of Indonesia’s position as a middle power, and hence its clout in influencing global development. We will be in a much stronger position when we become part of many other important multilateral organizations.

BRICS’ planned expansion, with 40 other countries having applied or expressed interest, carries the risk of undermining its coherence and difficulties in coming to a common position on many issues.  

At the Rio de Janeiro summit, the host nation agreed to avoid discussing the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and the latest, between Israel and Iran, as the 11 members are known to have different positions. The one thing they will likely agree on is in opposing the tariff war that the US President Donald Trump has waged against almost all countries in the world.

Now that Indonesia is already part of BRICS, it should not only get the most out of the organization, but also take a leading role in steering the group in the direction that serves the interests of our country and the Global South.

Source: The Jakarta Post