Jakarta. When it comes to navigating international relations, there is no better option than the “free and active” policy that Indonesia has always adopted, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi.

Indonesia has embraced what it calls the “free and active foreign policy” since the country’s earliest days. This approach sees Indonesia free to make friends with anyone, but at the same time, Jakarta does not feel obliged to join any particular bloc. This decades-long stance remains unchanged for Southeast Asia’s largest economy, even including throughout the past 10 years of Indonesia’s outgoing leader Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's leadership. Retno -- who has accompanied Jokowi as his foreign minister since 2014 -- recently looked back on Indonesia’s interactions on the global stage under Jokowi.

“Many people have asked us whether Indonesia’s free and active foreign policy remains relevant to this day, and I would ask them back, ‘are there any better options?'” Retno said in an exclusive interview aired by BTV on Thursday evening.

“Indonesia is free to befriend anyone as long as that friendship is mutually beneficial and brings benefits to the country. This gives us a wide space to maneuver as we make our contributions. Imagine if we are tied to an alliance, our position has to follow the group even though it goes against what we believe in,” Retno said.

According to the senior diplomat, this free and active policy had become “more relevant” amidst today’s geopolitical tensions. She added: “I remember Mr. President [Jokowi] once said that Indonesia would befriend anyone, but we cannot be dictated by others.”

It appears that Indonesia’s decision to not pick sides has bore fruit. A case in point is that Indonesia is still trading with two rivaling major powers, the US and China. Despite Jakarta growing closer economic ties with China, the US still sees Indonesia as a close partner. Last year, Indonesia-US decided to elevate their ties to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership.

The unchanging political ethos lets Indonesia take part in cooling down the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war. In 2022, Jokowi headed to the two warring countries to meet their respective leaders: Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Jokowi at the time promised to Zelenskyy that he would deliver Kyiv’s message to Putin, whom he met not long after. The ex-Jakarta governor took the opportunity to bring both countries’ attention to how the war had disrupted the global food supply chain. Ukraine is a major wheat supplier. Russia’s blockades of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports have taken a toll on food markets.

Since being declared the election winner, Jokowi’s successor, Prabowo Subianto, has toured around the globe to introduce himself to world leaders as the incoming president. The former army general has said that he intends to also have Indonesia befriend anyone, saying that “a thousand friends are too few, but one enemy is too many”.  

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