Indonesia has these bigger fish to fry than South China Sea
Joko Widodo’s reshuffle comes amid loud noises on sovereignty, but is aimed more at economic issues than addressing tensions with China over fishing rights
Acabinet reshuffle in Indonesia by President Joko Widodo that puts his former chief security minister and right-hand man Luhut Panjaitan in charge of maritime affairs is more about striking a political balance in the coalition government than adopting a harder line with China over disputed fishing rights in the South China Sea.
Widodo’s July 27 reshuffle, in which 13 of his 34 ministers were either replaced or moved sideways, came weeks after he held a cabinet meeting aboard a warship in waters off the Natuna Islands, following it with orders to expand offshore oil exploration and commercial fishing.
But the changes were mostly focused on improving his economic team as Indonesia struggles to close a widening budget deficit and get back to a five per cent-plus growth rate.
The president’s main motive in transferring Panjaitan to the maritime portfolio was to compensate one-time armed forces commander Wiranto for removing two ministers from his People’s Conscience Party, which has supported Widodo from the day he entered the presidential race in early 2014.