Ein "Riese” erwacht: Die indonesische Rolle in Südostasien

Abstract

In terms of population and area Indonesia is the biggest member of ASEAN and therefore an important partner for Germany. The article focus on the foreign politics of Indonesia towards the USA, Japan and the People's Republic of China. Furthermore the economic developments and some economic problems like equal and fair distribution of wealth to avoid a "social gap", the need for reduction of the foreign debts and the creating of new jobs, the finding of a balance of investment between hightech and "basic needs" and the need of increasing the quality of the human resources are topics which are coped with. Finally the role of the Indonesian Armed Forces ABRI in their classical "dwi fungsi" (double function) is also covered. The author sees today's Indonesia as "a giant awake" and according to him the archipelago-state will find a suitable place in the "concert of the great powers in the world" and will be a major factor of Southeast Asian stability, if the economic problems are not underestimated by the responsible organizations and persons. But in the coming years the dominating question for Indonesia will be the survival of the nation after the era Soeharto. For that, Indonesia needs a new leadership generation, which should integrate all major political and social groups to avoid domestic conflicts. ABRI, the moderate Islam and the business community will be the key-players in this process. Political stability is the credo of President Sohartoe. But this does not necessarily mean Indonesia is stable. This will be proved in the coming transformation period.