Jakarta. Indonesia has slammed trade weaponization and weakening multilateralism in Foreign Minister Sugiono’s annual press statement, but Jakarta continues to shy away from calling out US President Donald Trump for his actions.

Since Trump’s return to the White House last year, the world has seen major upheavals. The businessman-turned-politician has launched a flurry of tariff assaults against the rest of the world. He has just unveiled another import tax hike of 25% for countries doing business with the protest-hit Iran. Just last week, Trump quit 66 international bodies, including the bedrock global climate treaty. 

“One of the most striking features that we see today is the increasingly blurred boundaries between economy and security. Trade, investment, and technology policies are now increasingly used as geopolitical instruments. Weaponization of economic policies is a sign of our time today,” Sugiono said in a room full of reporters and ambassadors in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He also spoke of how “fragile the international order” is.

“Narrow national interests trump collective security. International law, which has long safeguarded global stability, is often abused through an à la carte approach. When commonly agreed-upon rules get violated without any consequences, what crumbles is not just one rule, but also the trust towards that rule and the entire order,” Sugiono said. 

The minister pointed out how multilateralism is now “under serious threat”.

Sugiono’s speech lasted for around 48 minutes or so, but failed to mention the US or Trump. The Jakarta Globe later asked Sugiono whether his statement on trade weaponization was alluding to the US in his speech, which the chief diplomat had denied.

“No. I was talking about how multilateralism needs to be strengthened. There should be a recommitment to the [international principles and rules] from all of us,” Sugiono said.

Indonesia has caught flak for trying to be safe with its response to US actions, including when Washington abducted Venezuela’s now-ousted leader Nicolas Maduro. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has called for dialogue, but also avoided mentioning Trump, unlike its close neighbor Malaysia, which called US action a “clear violation of international law”. 

Ex-Deputy Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal has said that Indonesia-US comprehensive strategic partnership — the highest level of bilateral cooperation — should not stop Jakarta from being vocal. Dino even compared the Venezuela crisis to when Indonesia was a sharp critic of Washington’s invasion of Iraq.

“There is always room for healthy criticism. … This is a partnership based on sovereign equality and mutual respect, not subordination. If the US does not accept Indonesia’s criticism, then the US is not acting as a true partner of Indonesia,” Dino said.

Jakarta is currently in the final stage of trade deal negotiations with the Trump administration. President Prabowo Subianto is scheduled to fly to the White House later this month to ink the trade pact, which will see US-bound Indonesian palm oil getting 0% tariffs.

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