China, Indonesia hold first 2+2 senior officials’ meeting amid South China Sea tensions

 

China, Indonesia hold first 2+2 senior officials’ meeting amid South China Sea tensions

Aug 13, 2024

China and Indonesia held their first Senior Officials' Meeting of the Joint Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue on Tuesday.

Experts believe that cooperation between Beijing and Jakarta will set an example for other ASEAN member states while contributing to stabilizing the situation in the South China Sea.

As agreed between China and Indonesia, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Sun Weidong and Deputy Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of the Central Military Commission Zhang Baoqun led a delegation to Jakarta on Monday to attend the first Senior Officials' Meeting of the China-Indonesia Joint Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue.

Sun and Zhang and their Indonesian counterparts Abdul Kadir Jailani, Director General of Asia-Pacific and African Affairs at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Brigadier General Oktaheroe Ramsi, Secretary Directorate General for Defense Strategy at the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, co-chaired the Dialogue in Jakarta on Tuesday. 

The two sides exchanged in-depth views on China-Indonesia relations, diplomatic and defense strategic cooperation and reached a series of consensuses.

The senior officials' meeting marks the official launch of the "2+2" mechanism between the two countries and a new level of strategic mutual trust between the two countries. The two sides spoke highly of the development of China-Indonesia relations and expressed their willingness to strengthen communication and coordination, continuously enhance bilateral political and security cooperation and friendly mutual trust, and push for new progress in the building of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future.

China also expounded stances and propositions on issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns such as Taiwan question and the South China Sea. Indonesia congratulated China on the successful convening of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, reiterated its firm adherence to the one-China principle, and advocated properly managing differences through peace negotiations and maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that 2+2 ministerial dialogues usually take place only between partners or countries with close relations and high strategic mutual trust.

This senior officials' meeting is expected to pave the way and create better conditions for talks among higher level officials in the future, Qian said.

Chen Xiangmiao, director of the World Navy Research Center at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times that the meeting will also likely address the relationships between China and ASEAN, and China's support for ASEAN's centrality in the region.

The two sides are also expected to discuss the negotiations on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, with a view to reaching an agreement on the COC as soon as possible. In addition, the two sides will likely continue to focus on the Belt and Road Initiative and discuss ways to strengthen economic and trade cooperation under the framework of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the upgraded China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, Chen said.

Chen believes that given the fact that China and Indonesia share a common understanding in various areas, the two sides will also discuss various issues, ranging from Indonesia's support for the one-China principle and clean energy to conflicts elsewhere in the world.

The 2+2 dialogue came after the Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto visited Beijing this April, with observers saying that the visit was crucial not only for the development of bilateral relations for at least the next five years, but also injects positivity and stability into the whole ASEAN region.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun also met with Prabowo during the visit. Dong said the Chinese military is willing to work with the Indonesian military to consolidate their strategic mutual trust, promote joint exercises and training, and enhance personnel exchanges to take their practical cooperation to a new height.

Chen said that China and Indonesia have established smooth mechanisms for joint exercises and defense exchanges, and the two countries will set an example of cooperation between China and other ASEAN member states.

Meanwhile, military cooperation in general contributes to enhancing mutual trust in security between the two countries. More importantly, the cooperation between the two sides will serve as a positive signal for stabilizing the situation in the South China Sea, Chen said.

The China-Indonesia 2+2 dialogue takes place shortly after the Philippines continued to ignore China's sincere efforts to calm tensions by sending an air force aircraft to illegally enter the airspace over China's Huangyan Dao (also known as Huangyan Island) in the South China Sea on Thursday, a move that was met with professional and legitimate responses by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command. 

Chen said that Indonesia is also worried about the current tensions in the South China Sea, which will make Jakarta more concerned about the deterioration of the regional security environment as the worsening situation in turn will probably compel Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries to take sides in the competition between major powers. 

Chen said that Indonesia is likely worried that the Philippines' cooperation with the US and other Western countries may impact the unity of ASEAN.

Considering the above-mentioned facts, Indonesia will likely try to play a mediating role between the disputing countries. In addition, Indonesia will likely try to forge a solid consensus within ASEAN members, as it does not want to see ASEAN divided on the South China Sea issue, Chen noted.