U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Visit Indonesia after Spy Plane Incident

Pompeo will visit Indonesia amid increasing tensions among multiple countries involving the South China Sea. (Wikimedia Commons).

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Indonesia this week after the country rejected a request by the United States to land surveillance planes within its borders.

“The Secretary will travel to Jakarta to deliver public remarks and meet with his Indonesian counterparts to affirm the two countries’ vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the US Embassy in Jakarta said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement comes after the U.S. contacted Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto this summer. Between July and August, the U.S. requested that the P-8 Poseidon surveillance temporarily land in Indonesia before continuing operations in the South China Sea. Indonesian President Joko Widodo rejected this appeal.

The United States’ request comes amid a period of growing tensions between China and the U.S. over the former’s claims in the South China Sea. China has embraced an increasingly aggressive policy in the area over the last decade, asserting sovereignty in an area demarcated by so-called nine-dash line, regardless of overlap that this claim has with other countries’ Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). In response, the United States has ramped up naval exercises in the region and has increased its use of surveillance planes to monitor Chinese activities. The Indonesian government has grown increasingly worried about the disputes between the two powers.

"We don't want to get trapped by this rivalry. Indonesia wants to show all that we are ready to be your partner," said Marsudi. 

Jakarta has a history of remaining neutral in its policy towards the South China Sea and does not generally permit foreign militaries to conduct operations on its soil. Although Indonesia and China have recently engaged in maritime standoffs, Dino Patti Djalal, former Indonesian ambassador to the United States, maintains that the country does not want to increase hostilities within Beijing, saying that “China is now the most impactful country in the world for Indonesia."

Djalal’s worries reflect the United States’ evermore aggressive foreign policy against China in recent years. As Jakarta prepares to receive Pompeo, Widido and Marsudi will focus their efforts on maintaining neutrality. 

“I believe my conversation with Secretary Pompeo will run smoothly and strengthen our bilateral relationship with the U.S.,” Retno remarked.

Pompeo did not directly comment on the surveillance plane incident, instead focusing on his visit in the context of a larger trip including India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.