Indonesia’s Trump deal delivers lesson for Australia
Australia is not alone in attempting to balance its military alignment with Washington against its economic dependence on Beijing.
As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wraps up a six-day tour of China, an effort to separate Australia’s economic and military relationships, the Trump administration is actively seeking to connect the two.
US President Donald Trump revealed on Tuesday that Washington had struck a deal with Indonesia on tariff relief, with a new report suggesting Jakarta offered military cooperation in the South China Sea to get the agreement over the line.
Like Albanese, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is balancing a vital trade relationship with China and a vital security relationship with Washington. But if confirmed, the US deal would mark a shift in Indonesia’s long-standing military non-alignment — defined by the phrase “a million friends and zero enemies”.
It could also send a stark message to countries in the region seeking to tiptoe between Washington and Beijing: the Trump administration may pressure them to choose.
