This year, Indonesia and Türkiye commemorate 75 years of bilateral relations. Last month, the Council for Strategic Cooperation of High Level Inaugural (HLSC) between Indonesia and Türkiye was also detained, which led to the signing of 13 agreements between the ministries and the institutions of the two countries. This moment serves as a reaffirmation of the strategic partnership of Indonesia-Türkiye, which was created in 2011 during the presidency of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Thinking about Türkiye’s geographical position, Yücel Bozdağlio supports that Türkiye faces an identity dilemma because of his equally strong interactions with Asia and Europe. Under the supervision of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Türkiye has teamed up more in the West to affirm his status of modern civilization (Contemporary civilization). This alignment led to the membership of Türkiye to the organization of the North Atlantic Treaty and its candidacy to become a member of the European Union (EU). However, membership in the EU of Türkiye was hampered by persistent negative perceptions of the EU member states. This challenge prompted Türkiye to rekindle its historical links with Asian nations. This change began in the 1980s under Turbut Özal, which envisaged a commercial corridor “from the Adriatic Sea to the Great Wall of China”. This vision was then refined by Ismail CEM, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye in the 1990s of the left -wing Democratic Party, which argued that Türkiye naturally owned two essential identities: as a central country (central country) and as a terminal country (terminal country) Connect Asia and Europe. This vision has become the cornerstone of Turkish foreign policy in the following decades, notably under the government of the AK party.
In the early 2000s, Ahmet Davutoğlu, then foreign policy advisor to the Turkish Prime Minister, highlighting Türkiye’s historical ties with Asia, invented the term Asian depth (Asian depth) to describe the potential commitment of Türkiye deeper with Asia. However, this concept was not entirely developed by Davutoğlu and subsequent administrations. It was not until 2019 that Türkiye introduced a specific vision of the foreign policy focused on Asia, known as Asia again (Asia again). This policy is aligned with three main priorities in Türkiye’s foreign policy, which included three main programs. First, the strengthening of Türkiye’s partnerships with Asian countries to advance bilateral relations. Second, improve Türkiye’s references as a model country in the practice of diplomacy and mediation. Third, prioritization of digital diplomacy is a main tool in the conduct of Türkiye’s foreign policy.
As part of Asia Anwew, Türkiye has focused more on Southeast Asia, in particular Indonesia and Malaysia. This objective is based on the status of the two countries as a democratic nations and a Muslim majority that play a key role in the region. Although the concept in Asia again allows Turkiye to open its relations more deeply with Asian nations, it remains largely a general concept and needs time to find its goal. In terms of operational definition, the Asia Anwew initiative covers major concepts such as the increase in culture, economics and military exchanges with Asian countries. This has raised some questions about the question of whether the Asia Answe initiative has ambiguities or will be an important doctrine in Turkish foreign policy. The main reason is that Turkiye must calibrate its objective for each nation to take momentum. This must be done not only in the government’s commitment to the government, but also in the relations of people / people.
High -level meetings between Türkiye and Indonesia led to the signing of 13 agreements covering the cooperation in defense, education, investment, agriculture, exploration of natural resources and communications. Two of these agreements are specifically focused on strengthening defense cooperation, in particular in the joint development of unmanned air vehicles and defense equipment in Indonesia.
Since he assumed the role of Minister of Defense under President Joko Widodo, Prabowo Suduanto has committed to establish defense partnerships with key countries, including Türkiye. Intensive defense diplomacy initiated during Jokowi administration favored confidence between Turkish and Indonesian bureaucrats. In this context, President Prabowo’s new approach to Indonesian foreign policy will certainly contribute a lot to the newborn initiative of Turkiye towards Asia. Probowo initiatives in the defense sector led to a military drone sale agreement between Turkiye and Indonesia. In this context, Indonesia will buy 60 Bayraktar TB3 drones. This clearly shows that the initiative of Turkiye Asia Anew manages to respond to the requests of other actors. However, if Turkiye fails in military technological progress, the initiative in Asia again would succeed is an important question to ask.
On the other hand, an excessive concentration on defense diplomacy should be balanced with the understanding that strong bilateral relations are better constructed thanks to a close commitment of civil society. Defense diplomacy, although important, is frequently influenced by constantly evolving geopolitical dynamics and remains mainly an initiative focused on the elite. In this case, Indonesian society knows a lot about Turkiye, in particular in terms of historical perspective, namely the “Ottoman concept”. Indonesians, especially in Muslim circles, refer and greatly glorify the Ottoman Empire. However, the knowledge of Turkish society on Indonesia as well as Southeast Asia is always limited. To strengthen the links between companies, decision -makers should take more concrete measures in people’s relationships. For the Turkiye side, this must start from scratch, with concepts such as Pancasila (five guiding principles of the Indonesian Republic), Islam Nusantara, Adat-Adat Indonesia (Indonesian traditions), etc. Otherwise, Asia will not go further than to serve the material interest of the Turkish Republic.
There are three political proposals that could be taken into account by Indonesian and Turkish governments to further strengthen bilateral relations. First, Indonesian and Turkish governments should create a larger space for civil society to strengthen people’s relationships. This can be achieved through initiatives such as scholarship programs, student exchanges and collaboration between NGOs on social and humanitarian issues. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the 5,000 Indonesian students student in Türkiye will serve as sincere embassy (Cultural ambassadors) for Türkiye in Indonesia. Likewise, Indonesia should consider providing more scholarships and exchange of possibilities for Turkish students through short -term programs such as Darmasiswa and long -term initiatives such as the Knb sotck exchange.
Secondly, Türkiye has taken important measures to promote its culture in Indonesia, such as the creation of the Yunus Emre Institute in Jakarta, the introduction of Turkish dramas and Indonesian and popularization of Turkish cuisine. Indonesia should be reciprocal by promoting an active in Indonesian culture in Türkiye. This includes the commitment of former Indonesians who studied in Türkiye to translate Indonesian novels into Turkish and introduce an Indonesian cultural and culinary heritage, such as the promotion of the culture of Indonesian coffee in Türkiye. These efforts are necessary to prevent a lack of consciousness of the Turks concerning Indonesian and wider Asian cultures. The other cultural and societal exchange between the Indonesians and the Turks would avoid misunderstandings, which could cause a possible turning back in bilateral relations between the two countries, as in the debate of the name of a street in Menteng as “rue Atatürk”.
Third, and finally, as two increasing intermediate powers in global policy, Indonesia and Türkiye should support each other in strengthening their roles in regional and international affairs. Indonesia, as regional chief in Southeast Asia, can help Türkiye find a relevant role in the Anase and the Asia-Pacific region. Conversely, Türkiye, one of the main countries of the Muslim world, should facilitate the participation of Indonesia in the resolution of strategic questions in the Middle East and in the Muslim world, in particular concerning the issue in Palestine.
Read more in -depth on international relations