Navigating Around Conflict: The Indonesia Way to Initiating Peace Talk in the South China Sea Dispute

Abstract

Objective: This paper aims to unravel the pattern of Indonesia's diplomatic maneuver in the South China Sea dispute over the years.   Result and conclusion: We conclude that Indonesia has repeatedly shown a tendency to take the initiative and lead the talks to promote a peaceful settlement. The proposed zero drafts in 2012 indicate Indonesia's strategy to lead the conversation toward peaceful agenda. In order to execute its diplomatic maneuver, Indonesia repeatedly exploited ASEAN Forum to achieve milestones in the South China Sea peaceful settlement.   Research implication: The South China Sea has been diplomatic for Indonesia's Foreign Policy for ages. In response to the matters, Indonesia has been persistently implementing two diplomatic alternatives by enforcing formal diplomatic ways utilizing the ASEAN forum and executing an informal path through Managing Potential Conflict in the South China Sea.   Originality/value: The two ways have been a fundamental Indonesian foreign policy landscape towards South China Sea dispute since the 1990s until arguably 2014. Various scholarly manuscripts conclude that the approach proved unsuccessful in effectively bringing a settlement to the South China Sea disputes.