Indonesia’s non-alignment in an age of rivalry, East Asia Forum

By Alfin Basundoro, East Asia Forum, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research (EABER) May 22, 2026

“Indonesia’s Major Defense Cooperation Partnership with the United States has unsettled public trust by raising fears that airspace access could compromise sovereignty. The reaction is best understood through the bebas aktif principle which demands strategic autonomy and active defence of national interests. While the agreement offers real benefits for military capacity and deterrence in the North Natuna Sea, it also…”

Read the full piece here https://eastasiaforum.org/2026/05/22/indonesias-non-alignment-in-an-age-of-rivalry/. Featured image credit: U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircrews with the 36th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, salute fellow airmen at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 10, 2022, during a multinational elephant walk as part of Operation Christmas Drop 2022. Seven C-130 aircraft from the U.S. Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Republic of Korea Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force participated in the elephant walk to mark the conclusion of Operation Christmas Drop, a humanitarian assistance effort meant to support remote island communities in the Federated States of Micronesia, Alamy.com.

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• https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-intelligence-israel/