Indonesia´s China Policy in the New Order and Beyond: Problems and Prospects

Abstract

This article examines Indonesia's perceptions and policies towards China during the New Order era (1965-99) and the prospects for bilateral relations in the post-New Order period. For the first two decades of President Soeharto's rule, Indonesian policy towards China was marked by hostility, and stemmed from the 1965 Gestapu Affair. Bilateral relations remained frosty until the mid-to-late 1980s when Soeharto initiated a gradual policy of rapprochement with China. This led to the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1990 and Indonesia's policy of engagement with China. Despite improved economic relations, a number of obstacles stood in the way of closer Sino-Indonesian relations in the 1990s. The new government of President Abdurrahman Wahid must tackle these obstacles if bilateral relations are to move forward in the twenty-first century.