Indonesia’s Sovereignty at Risk?

[serious_fun]

More discussion regarding the ART signed with the USA.:


Indonesia’s Sovereignty at Risk: The Consequences of the ART Agreement with the United States

More than sixty years ago, Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, warned that political independence meant little without economic sovereignty. In his famous Trisakti doctrine, announced during the 1964 Independence Day speech, Sukarno argued that a truly independent nation must achieve three things: political sovereignty, economic self-reliance, and cultural dignity. He believed that former colonial powers would continue to dominate newly independent countries through economic dependency and political pressure, even after formal colonialism had ended.

Today, many Indonesian scholars and activists believe those warnings are becoming reality once again through the newly signed Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) between Indonesia and the United States. Negotiated throughout 2025 and finalized in Washington, D.C. in February 2026, the agreement is scheduled to take effect in May 2026. Supporters present ART as a modern trade agreement designed to reduce tariffs and improve economic cooperation. Critics, however, argue that it represents a deeper restructuring of Indonesia’s political and economic sovereignty in favor of U.S. strategic interests.

Related to this is the proposal to use Kertajati Airport (airport code KJT) as a repair/maintainance hub for C-130 aircraft...essentially creating a military target in JABAR??

here

here

 

[harryopal1]

Yes, tempting to enter into agreements with the US so that one would have that powerful nation at one's side in the event of some conflict. Australia has been sucking up to the US ever since the Second World War when we found that our supposed great friend, Britain did not want to release Australian troops from the Middle East to return to Aus and defend us from the Japanese. Since then we have signed up for every war as asked by the US; Vietnam, Afghanistan etc and allowed military bases, a great US spy base in central Australia and all kinds of easy terms for US multinationals. We have lived in fear that someone might shake the world map and millions of Chinese would fall down into Australia. But at the end of the day if we were caught up in war the Americans would only come to our rescue if it were in their own strategic interests.