Indonesia’s entry this month into the BRICS developing country bloc, initiated by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, marks the group’s expansion into Southeast Asia.
Jakarta’s accession was announced by the grouping’s key member Brazil on January 6, after joining Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates last year. In October, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam became partner countries – meaning they are interested in becoming BRICS members but have not yet been accepted for full membership.
Indonesia is the only Southeast Asian country accepted as a full member.
Teuku Rezasyah, a professor of diplomacy and foreign policy at Universitas Padjajaran in Indonesia, said membership would allow Indonesia to work with other influential countries with substantial populations to reform multilateral organizations such as the United Nations.
“At present, Russia and China are permanent members of the UN Security Council. However, BRICS has become a strong base for Indonesia to gain support from countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa to pursue UN Security Council reforms,” he told VOA on January 15.
Rezasyah said that there have been no significant structural changes in the United Nations for 80 years.
The five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – have veto power and are “mostly of Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian civilization,” he said.
“India and Indonesia, the world’s first and fourth largest countries by population, which represent large Hindu and Muslim populations, have not always been well represented in the Security Council,” he said.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Roy Soemirat pointed to areas in which Jakarta wants to see changes at the UN
“Indonesia is pushing for revitalizing the UN General Assembly and the Security Council. Changes in working methods, limited use of veto power and the issue of representation in the Security Council need to be reformed. The Security Council was last expanded “11 to 15 countries in the 1970s,” he told VOA on January 18. As more countries join the United Nations, the composition of the Security Council will need to change.”
He said Indonesia has been active in UN working groups on UN reforms, particularly as a non-permanent Security Council member from 2019 to 2020. The UN unanimously agreed in 2015 to push for reform of the rules on the use of the veto power. Along with France and Mexico, Roy said, Indonesia has urged Security Council countries to be more transparent and voluntarily explain their reasons for vetoes.
Aspirations for reform of the United Nations
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Sugiono said in his annual address on January 10 that the global economic architecture does not meet the modern challenges and needs faced by most countries, citing a lack of respect for international law and the UN Charter.
Indonesia was one of the first countries to call for UN reforms in a speech to the General Assembly by then-President Sukarno in 1960.
“There is still a long way to go to truly reform the UN,” said Mohammed Faisal, executive director of the Center of Reform on Economics, a Jakarta research group, but “the growing power of emerging countries under the BRICS, at least.” Less, will make it more balanced.
“Therefore, the voices of emerging and developing countries can be better heard in the global arena,” he said.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry foreign spokesman Lalu Muhammad Iqbal was quoted by Antara Wire Service as saying that he believed reform of the UN Security Council was necessary because it could make decisions that all member states must abide by. However, there is no consensus among UN member states on the arrangements for the transition.
Some member states propose changing the veto right, while others propose granting permanent or semi-permanent member status.
Dinna Prapto Raharja, senior policy advisor at Synergy Policies – a public policy consulting firm – and a tenured associate professor in international relations, looked at the different positions of developing countries on UN reform.
“For example, everyone has their own champion on who should be the new permanent member of the UN Security Council. How can the veto of the United Nations Security Council be abolished and who should have the right of veto? “So I think Indonesia needs to come up with an idea for UN reform that is actually achievable,” he said.
The Ministry of External Affairs emphasizes the importance of BRICS as a platform for the voices of the Global South.
“BRICS is an important platform for Indonesia to strengthen South-South cooperation, ensuring that the voices and aspirations of countries in the Global South are heard and represented in the global decision-making process. We are fully committed to working together with all BRICS members or other parties to build a just, peaceful and prosperous world. the ministry said in a press statement on January 7.
There are also concerns among members of the House of Representatives, Indonesia’s unicameral national legislature, and international relations analysts that by joining BRICS, Indonesia is moving closer to Russia and China while distancing itself from Western powers such as the United States and the European Union. ,
Vincencio Dugis, head of the ASEAN Studies Research Center at Universitas Airlangga in Indonesia, said he is concerned that Western countries view BRICS as a China- and Russia-led forum to oppose Western political and economic interests, which could lead to Western countries being forced to act in the future. There may be an obstacle. Investing in Indonesia.
Combined, the BRICS have a population of 3.5 billion or 45% of the global population. Excluding Indonesia, the economy of BRICS countries accounts for about 28% of the global economy. It is often seen as challenging the political and economic dominance of rich and powerful countries in North America and Western Europe.
In addition to UN reforms, Indonesia said it was ready to send more peacekeeping forces to Gaza.
Speaking ahead of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas coming into effect on Sunday, Soemirat said the prolonged conflict in Gaza would “help the UN Security Council quickly fulfill its mandate to maintain international peace and security on the basis of the UN Charter”. An example of the council’s failure”.
In a posting on Twitter on January 16, Sugiono expressed hope that the ceasefire agreement reached could be “a momentum to advance peace in Palestine.”
