By Trefor Moss
ASEAN is in a state of disarray over how to handle China. Whether intentional or not, Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea have managed to polarize the Southeast Asian organization to a thus far unseen extent. Some member states seek a strong collective approach to South China Sea disputes with the Chinese, while others think sovereignty issues are best dealt with bilaterally. This gap is proving all but impossible to bridge.
On ASEAN’s pro-China/anti-China continuum, Indonesia has generally found itself close to the middle. It arguably embodies the “ASEAN Way” of neutrality and non-intervention more than any other member state. Thus it was no surprise to see that Indonesia, although not the current ASEAN chair, was the one trying to pick up the pieces after the association’s disastrous summit in Phnom Penh several weeks ago.
It is against this backdrop that Indonesia will be opening talks with China about strengthening defense cooperation. The proposal is not new, of course, and its implications are not far-reaching from a military standpoint: Jakarta wants to start building Chinese anti-ship missiles locally to inject some momentum into its nascent military modernization program.
Read the full story at The Diplomat