Playing Identities, Preserving Interests: Balance of Identity and Indonesia's Foreign Policy Dilemma Amid the China-US Rivalry

Abstract:A foreign policy dilemma often occurs when a country is caught in the middle of two or more conflicting countries. States that have no conflict of interest would normally choose neutral positions or maintain good relations with all parties. In the case of Indonesia's foreign policy toward the China-US rivalry, free and active policy is the fundamental principle to preserve its national interests. Both China and the United States are Indonesia's strategic partners, especially in terms of economic cooperation. Although conventional wisdom tends to argue that Indonesia's current foreign policy has been increasingly dependent on China rather than the United States, it is also clear that a free and active principle sustains. This article aims to analyze how Indonesia could manage its relations amid international rivalries. Most scholars argue that the principle is feasible due to rationalist calculations that put a strong emphasis on economic interest. Using the balance of identity theory, this article argues that in dealing with the dilemma of dependence amid the ongoing China-US rivalry, Indonesia could employ its identity to preserve its strategic position between the two conflicting parties. Unlike the rationalist argument, which emphasizes materialist incentives, balance of identity puts more emphasis on the social feature of interstate relations.