Balanced Diplomacy Research Articles

Indonesian Foreign Policy in Encouraging the Acceleration of Implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific

Background: The ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific has become an essential framework in shaping the dynamics of relations in this increasingly complex region. In this context, the role of Indonesian Foreign Policy is very significant. This article aims to investigate Indonesia's role in encouraging accelerated implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific by highlighting four main steps to focus on in achieving this goal.
 
 Method: This research adopts a qualitative method of collecting data through in-depth interviews. Four key sources with deep insight into Indonesian foreign policy and the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific were interviewed. Triangulation techniques were used to validate and strengthen the findings. Primary data from these interviews is combined with secondary data from trusted sources such as policy documents, reports, and related literature.
 
 Results: The research identified four main steps that are an essential focus in Indonesia's efforts to accelerate the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific implementation. These steps include a proactive approach in promoting regional stability and cooperation, balanced diplomacy with significant powers to maintain a balance of interests, in-depth analysis to understand the impact of foreign policy, and active participation in various regional cooperation initiatives.
 
 Conclusion: Indonesia's foreign policy is vital in promoting the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific. By implementing measures such as a proactive approach, balanced diplomacy, in-depth analysis, and active participation in regional cooperation, Indonesia has played a central role in accelerating the implementation of this framework. This advances stability and peace in the Indo-Pacific region and ensures that ASEAN remains a key player in shaping the future of this increasingly complex region.

Mechanism of Balancing Diplomacy among Middle Powers the Hedging Strategy of Indonesia under the Competition of “Free-Open Indo Pacific” and “Belt and Road Initiative”

The competition between China and the United States is worsening in the Indo-Pacific region. With the evolution of the Indo-Pacific regional order, Southeast Asian countries find themselves at the forefront of competition. Most Southeast Asian countries face three main choices. The first choice is to support the current superpower, the United States; The second option is to cooperate with China and join the BRI initiative; The third option is a strategic hedge between China and the United States. This study focuses on the Southeast Asian region, taking Indonesia as the research object, and analyzes how Indonesia, as a middle power, adopts a hedging strategy to carry out excellent power balance diplomacy. Indonesia has adopted the “Global Maritime Fulcrum Strategy (GMF)” as the primary measure to deal with BRI and FOIP. In this paper, a literature review and case study are used to study. The first part mainly expounds on balanced diplomacy between a middle power and an major power, and the second part focuses on Indonesia as the research object. Through a case study, it analyzes the background, current policies, achievements, and significance of GMF strategy and explains the hedging strategy of Indonesia, a middle power, to balance China and the United States.

Continuation or Reinvention? Assessment and Prospects of the Internal and External Policies of the Anwar Administration in Malaysia

With Anwar Ibrahim becoming the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Malaysia has finally entered a new period after three years of "political crisis". At this stage, despite the new administration, Anwar is still facing various domestic and foreign crises and challenges, including weak economic development, a volatile domestic political situation, a growing racial crisis and conflicts and confrontations between major powers. The internal policy will focus on revitalizing the economy and settling the domestic political situation, while the external policy will continue with pragmatic diplomacy and balanced diplomacy among major powers, and the development of relations with China will be the top priority of the Anwar administration. However, whether such internal and external policies will help to achieve Anwar's political goals and baggage still needs to be observed and analysed, and the fragile political base is also an unstable factor affecting the stability of the new Anwar administration.

South Korea’s New Southern Policy and the Middle Power Quest: Implications for India-Korea Relations

This article provides an Indian perspective on the evolution of South Korea’s New Southern Policy (NSP-K) and its implications for the two countries’ bilateral relations. It argues that, amid the intensification of regional great power geopolitics, NSP-K manifests Korea’s assertion of middle power agency, featuring a quest for regional influence and autonomy. As an instrument intended to strengthen relations with India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), NSP-K was driven by a desire to reduce Korea’s great power dependence and promote its image as a bilateral partner through an agenda of economic and diplomatic diversification. The evolution of NSP-K as Korea’s regional approach and its ambiguous position on the Indo-Pacific concept manifested the Moon administration’s prioritisation of ‘balanced diplomacy’ and the pursuit of ‘strategic autonomy’ in regional affairs. NSP-K, with its emphasis on the upgrading of India’s status in Korean foreign policy, has significantly contributed to the visibility and prospects of India-Korea bilateral relations. However, Korea’s ambiguity on the Indo-Pacific concept and its neglect of geostrategic and security issues, which New Delhi sees as critical in building a stable regional order, has become a limitation.

What does the media of a smaller state say about bigger states? - Spotlighting Bangladesh’s leading online media

ABSTRACT This paper examines how the Bangladeshi online media argues the country’s bilateral relations with bigger states by examining the media coverage on China, Japan, the US, and India. Methodologically, the study was conducted by combining quantitative text mining and qualitative analysis using the pentagonal model. The result shows that the Bangladeshi media publishes mostly economic related issues relating to each bigger state in line with the relationships based on investment, infrastructure, manufacture and exports between them and Bangladesh. In addition, comments on what Bangladesh expects to gain from bigger states are also observable. While Bangladesh faces various political and security issues with each of the bigger states, the media narrative is that the government is actively addressing these issues with the political motivation to enhance economic development, proactively engaging in balanced diplomacy while avoiding being passive and disadvantaged vis-à-vis the bigger states.

South Korea’s Evolving Balanced Diplomacy and China: A Discourse and Big Data Analysis of President Moon Jae-in’s Perception

What is the strategy that made the Moon Jae-in administration maintain a 'balanced diplomacy', thus far? Regarding this, the views of Seoul's allies were negative and sometimes harsh. This paper tries to reveal the substance of Seoul's strategic position and its China policy by analyzing Moon's perception of national security. Here, the term of national security is assumed to have four aspects: existential threat, structural threat, economic secutiry, and political security. As a research methodology, we mainly used discourse and big data analysis. The results revealed that Moon's perception of China stood out for his pragmatism in flexibly responding to the external changes. In terms of national interests, he wanted to secure China's cooperation on the Korean Peninsula issue, ensure diplomatic and security autonomy against the US-China competition, hedge against various economic threats, and overcome domestic confrontation between progressives and conservatives. If we look at Moon's perception considering the meanings of balance, he shows a strong reluctance to outright power politics by great powers, an unexpectedly indifferent attitude toward the negative impact of the US-China competition on the stability and peace of Northeast Asian and the peninsula, and a strong desire to improve the poor distribution of power through national capacity building.

Japan’s Diplomacy Towards ASEAN from the Perspective of its “Indo-Pacific Strategy”

Ever since Japan put forward “a free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy, ASEAN countries have become the cut-in point for Japan to establish an Indo-Pacific order. Japan has carried out a lot of cooperation with ASEAN countries in safeguarding a free and open regional order, high-quality infrastructure, connectivity, economic zone construction, and maritime security. However, as its “Indo-Pacific strategy” is still in the conceptual stage, it is difficult for Japan to lead ASEAN countries into its expected track. Pursuing a balanced diplomacy towards major powers, ASEAN wishes to maintain its centrality in the Indo-Pacific order through cooperation with Japan, so as to achieve a dynamic balance in the Indo-Pacific region. This will exert great impacts on the future development of international relations in this region.

Republic of Korea, Indo-Pacific and the Emerging Regional Order: Engaging without Endorsing

Despite being a key stakeholder in the emerging regional order, South Korea’s approach to the Indo-Pacific has been a policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’. It entails a cautious engagement with Indo-Pacific initiatives of different countries under the ambit of ‘New Southern Policy’ without endorsing the concept or articulating the Korean position on the Indo-Pacific regional construct. Explaining the Korea’s strategic outlook, this article argues that its ambiguous approach to the Indo-Pacific’ is determined by the prioritization of maintaining a ‘balanced diplomacy’ in its relations with the US and China in a context of intensified strategic competition between the two.

A study of Kazakhstan's diversified and balanced diplomacy from the perspective of geopolitics

As a potential "geopolitical pivot country" and "quicksand zone of American hegemony" in Eurasia, Kazakhstan is the "heart zone" defined by geopolitical scientist Mackinder. It is also the confrontation area between land power and sea power emphasized by Mahan. Therefore, analyzing Kazakhstan from a geopolitical perspective will recognize its geostrategic significance in Central Asia and even the whole Eurasian continent. Since its independence, Kazakhstan's position on the international stage has gradually risen, its influence has increased day by day, and is developing into a regional important country. The rapid development of Kazakhstan is closely related to its strategic geographical location, abundant energy, huge production and scientific and technological potential, and good development prospects of energy transportation infrastructure. In the future, Kazakhstan's diplomatic strategy is to restore Kazakhstan's important position in world development from Kazakhstan to Eurasia, and then from Eurasia to the world on the basis of giving full play to "diversified and balanced diplomacy".

Domestic politics and policy making toward China in East Asian countries

ABSTRACT This paper examines what kind of political, institutional arrangements and the behavior of political actors under these arrangements become the stabilizing or destabilizing factors of a country’s diplomatic balancing between the United States and China. Specifically, I describe the domestic politics of Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore in terms of their responses to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promoted by the Xi Jinping administration. The analysis reveals the following points. First, in all of these countries, the growing presence of China has increased the number of stakeholders in policymaking toward China, and domestic politics regarding policymaking toward China have become more contentious. Second, as a result, each country faces the risk of internalizing its foreign policy toward China, especially on issues related to sovereignty and domestic corruption, thereby destabilizing previously balanced diplomacy between the United States and China. Third, in dealing with such risks, countries with winner-takes-all presidential systems (e.g., South Korea and Indonesia) face difficulties in controlling the internalization of diplomacy, while countries with institutional frameworks that can control destabilizing factors, such as public opinion and corruption (e.g., Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore) are characterized by the relative ease with which they can maintain balanced diplomacy.

Rohingya Refugee Influx in Bangladesh and Repatriation Process: Addressing the Possible Challenges

Bangladesh is eminent in a very difficult situation regarding the Rohingya refugee crisis and their repatriation, and it practices balanced diplomacy, while her neighboring countries remain silent on the Rohingya problem. Bangladesh, as a host country for 1.1 million Rohingya refugees, faces environmental deterioration in terms of shelter, sanitation, and water management, among other things, due to the destruction of forest and hills. It must repatriate the Rohingya to their motherland in order to do this. This research looks at common long-term responses to the refugee crisis in Bangladesh, as well as the attitudes and behaviors of displaced Rohingyas. It claims that finding long-term solutions for Rohingya refugees through repatriation, integration, or resettlement in their home, host, and third countries is nearly impossible, but there are geographical as well as global challenges. In this case, there is a chance of repatriation in the immediate future, but it would be a small population relative to the total number of refugees. Since Bangladesh and Myanmar have been working together in a joint working group (JWG) since January 2018 to find solutions to the Rohingya crisis and repatriation, this process is still ongoing. This research aims to depict the potential challenges of repatriation of Rohingya refugee from Bangladesh.

РОЛЬ РОССИЙСКОГО КОНСУЛА В ДАМАСКЕ КНЯЗЯ Б. Н. ШАХОВСКОГО В ПОДДЕРЖКЕ МЕЖРЕЛИГИОЗНОГО МИРА НАКАНУНЕ ПЕРВОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ

Prince Boris N. Shakhovskoy (1870–1926), the Russian consul in Damascus from 1907 until the First World War, left to his descendants a legacy of attentive and balanced diplomacy. His reports to the Russian Embassy in Constantinople and to the 1st Division of the Foreign Ministry contain invaluable information shedding light on interfaith relations in the Syrian regions of the Ottoman Empire on the eve and after of the Young Turk Revolution, as well as on the early months of the so-called Great War (WWI). The article analyzes the messages of the diplomat on various aspects of the religious situation in the region. He considered the activities of the Islamist organization Muslim League in Damascus, which aimed at enforcing Sharia law throughout Syrian society and countering non-Muslim and European influence in the region. An anxious change in interfaith relations is being evaluated, when Muslim suspicion towards Christians grew, aggravated by the common conscription in the context of the Tripolitan and two Balkan wars. The consul attentively followed the problems of the participation of the Orthodox Arabs in the Ottoman institutions, as well as the attempts to join the English Old-Catholics to Orthodoxy, acting through Metropolitan of Beirut. Of historical interest is also the information about the transition of the Syrian Jacobites to Catholicism, as well as notes on the Catholic missions activities in the region. All these issues in the Syrian soil are viewed by the diplomat through the prism of competition between European powers, especially France and Italy.

The South Korea–US Alliance under the North Korean Nuclear Threat: A Reluctant Return to the “Autonomy–Security Trade‐Off”

This paper aims to examine the US–South Korea alliance from the perspective of the “Autonomy–Security Trade‐off” (AST) model, which was introduced by Michael F. Altfeld in the 1980s. This model could be a useful tool to ascertain the minimum conditions for the implementation of the US nuclear umbrella, which is a life‐and‐death issue for South Korea (ROK) given the serious North Korean nuclear threat. For this purpose, this paper introduces the key concept of the model and applies it to the ROK‐US alliance, analyzing the controversy over the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) to South Korea as a case study. The analysis found that South Korea started its alliance with the United States based on the AST model. However, South Korea became reluctant in yielding its autonomy to the United States in the 1990s, and initiated “balanced diplomacy” between the United States and China and the reclaiming of the Operational Control Authority (OPCON) from the commander of the ROK‐US Combined Forces Command (CFC), a US General, in the 2000s. It delayed the deployment of the US THAAD for 3 years only because China opposed the deployment even after North Korea had succeeded to develop its nuclear weapons. However, South Korea had to return to the original AST model, albeit reluctantly, because of the emergence of a more serious North Korean nuclear threat, including hydrogen bombs. It did not try, with any great effort, to improve its relationship with China, and reduced the scope of OPCON by appointing a South Korean General as the Command of the CFC, allowing the deployment of the THAAD. Now that North Korea has the potential capabilities to strike the US mainland, South Korea cannot afford to be reluctant in yielding its autonomy to the United States. In this context, South Korea should not pursue its balanced diplomacy between the United States and China any longer. To the contrary, it should participate in the United States’ Indo‐Pacific strategy. It may also need to stop its pursuit of appointing its general as the Commander of the CFC until North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons. It should also become more willing to increase its cost‐sharing with the United States. In conclusion, South Korea should try to accept the recommendations from the AST model as long as its needs the US nuclear umbrella and wants to protect its people from the North Korean nuclear threat.

A Critical Review of Balanced Diplomacy as a Leadership of Administrative Leader

This paper aims to propose a constructive direction for diplomatic policy through a critical review of the Moon Jae-in adminstration’s ‘balanced diplomacy’. In order to accomplish this, major leadership theory was used as the methodology to analyze the current government’s diplomatic power in the areas of the North Korean nuclear issue, ROK-U.S. ROK-China relations, and ASEAN diplomacy. The current government must consider the North Korean nuclear issue from two perspectives. North Korea, that possesses nuclear weapons, is not in a position to maintain a stable institutional relationship with South Korea. Moreover, the utmost priority of policy towards North Korea is the Korean people. There must not be any ‘cracks’ within Korean society regarding methods of dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue. Secondly, the ROK-U.S. relations must work towards institutionally securing a nuclear umbrella. This must be fulfilled by ensuring practical security through documenting an ‘automatic intervention’ clause in the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Agreement. Thirdly, South Korea can show its presence to China in the ROK-China relations only when it is in a strong alliance with the U.S. Fourthly, diplomatic expansion into Southeast Asia can actually be a cause for losing diplomatic balance in Northeast Asia due to it being an escape from the reality of U.S.-China relations. In conclusion, the Moon government’s diplomatic leadership can be categorized as a ‘Transformational leadership’ that acquires political support by casting a vision for government administration and creating motivation. Three positions must be set in order to practice changeover diplomacy: (1) Acknowledging the reality of inter-Korean relations and building constructive relations with North Korea, (2) establishing an innovative ROK-U.S. security position and foundation for ‘self-strengthening security’, and (3) emerging as a confident and flexible diplomacy.

Lao Wisdom as “Buffer State” in an Emerging Mekong Regional Economy – How a Small Country Behaves among Big Countries –

Lao PDR, located in a geopolitically strategic area of the Mekong region, has served as a “buffer state” without being placed under any one country's influence, contributing to the status quo of regional power balance. The skillful balanced diplomacy of Lao PDR has enabled it to keep this position. Yet, in face of growing Chinese presence, how long will that be the case? With an emerging regional economy across borders in the Mekong region as the background, Lao PDR, a small, land-locked country, has achieved relatively high economic growth rates and has started to attract foreign direct investment in recent years. In this process, Japanese companies have started to invest in manufacturing there, and Japan-Laos business partnership has been taking off. Looking for further development, Lao PDR has been consolidating its position as the “battery of the Mekong,” a net exporter of electricity. By improving its connectivity with neighboring countries, Lao PDR has also been making untiring efforts to become a “land-linked” country, aiming to serve as a “logistic hub” for the region, taking advantage of its geopolitical advantage, Yet, many challenges exist before this goal is achieved.

China’s Policy on the Middle East Peace Process after the Cold War

This article focuses on China’s policy towards the peace process in the Middle East after the end of the Cold War and the American influence on Chinese policy. China has always charted its policy on the Arab-Israeli peace process to be ‘balanced diplomacy’, maintaining friendly relations with Arab countries, while not neglecting its relationship with Israel. Furthermore, China’s policy regarding the Israeli-Arab peace process contains contradictory elements in its dual relations with the ‘peace camp’ and the ‘radical camp’ in the Middle East. Chinese diplomacy finds itself in a complex dilemma, balancing the perils and prospects of its economic and strategic goals in the Middle East and the international arena. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China states that it shares the great burden of ensuring that the Middle Eastern peace process is managed correctly. However, its declaration is merely diplomatic rhetoric; Beijing does not actively endeavour to advance the peace process but is mainly interested in promoting its own economic interests and balancing the US hegemony in the region. Therefore, its approach is chiefly one of conflict management, rather than conflict resolution. Paradoxically, by trying to maintain good economic relations with everyone, it helps strengthen forces opposed to peace, such as Iran and Hamas.

South Korea in 2012–2013

South Koreans made history in the year of 2012 when it elected its first female president. Having won the general election in April, president-elect Park Geun-hye will enjoy strong support from the legislature in implementing her campaign promises. Park and her party have embarked on an “economic democratisation” policy to realise a fair-competition economy. She is also committed to improving relations with the North and adopting a balanced diplomacy with South Korea's neighbouring states.

Japanese Attitudes and Policies towards China in 1973

The Tanaka visit to Peking in September 1972 and the subsequent opening of regular diplomatic relations between Japan and the Chinese People's Republic represented a turn of foreign policy which was strongly supported by most sections of Japanese public opinion. The policy of following the American lead in refusing de jure recogmtion to the government in Peking and confining diplomatic relations to the Chinese Nationalist regime in Taiwan had always been unpopular in Japan, on the Right as well as on the Left of the political spectrum, for, while the Left was influenced by sympathies for the social aims of Communist China and resentful at what was seen as the subservience of Japan to American imperialism, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was affected by the view prevailing in Japanese business circles that Japan was being kept out of a large and lucrative trade by conformity with a policy made in Washington, After the President of the United States had himself made the journey to Peking, there was no longer sufficient ground for the Japanese government to pursue a policy which the Americans themselves had repudiated, and there was even an opportunity for Japan to move ahead of the United States in conciliation with Peking, since the United States was still encumbered by a military alliance with Taiwan, as Japan was not. Thus Japan was able to open full diplomatic relations with Peking while the United States had to be content with a “liaison mission.” It remained to be seen, however, how the new Sino-Japanese relations would develop in terms of concrete agreements between the two countries and, on surveying the progress made over the year that has passed since Tanaka went to Peking, the actual results of the new policy must be reckoned some-what disappointing. There are, in fact, two considerable obstacles to the attainment of genuinely intimate and harmonious relations between Tokyo and Peking: one is the continuation of certain Japanese ties with Taiwan and the other is the Japanese effort, as part of the new so-called “balanced diplomacy,” to develop relations with the Soviet Union simultaneously with the approach to Peking.