Abstract
AbstractRegional politics surrounding Southeast Asia has exhibited significant developments with China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and counter initiatives through the Indo‐Pacific concept. This article seeks to examine Indonesia's strategic reactions to such regional developments. It argues that Indonesia has exhibited policy responses to the BRI and the Indo‐Pacific concept by hedging against uncertainties created by China's economic prowess through the adoption of mutually contradictory policy options. Such a hedging strategy was present in various dimensions: adopting economic accommodation and economic diversification regarding the BRI; taking confrontational strategies in maritime security tensions with China while pursuing economic pragmatism for attracting BRI funds; and restraining reliance on China and its BRI by pushing forwards Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) regional initiative that uses the Indo‐Pacific term. The findings indicate that Indonesia's position is crucial for bolstering ASEAN's status as the main regional organization under evolving regional politics.
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