Opinion | Indonesia’s vaccine cooperation with Beijing won’t compromise Unclos commitment in South China Sea
- China began offering vaccine assistance to Southeast Asian countries in October and its pandemic assistance in the region has been unparalleled
- It has raised concerns that Jakarta could be persuaded to soften its position on the South China Sea territorial dispute
“Alhamdulillah, the vaccine is available, which means that we can immediately prevent the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak,” President Joko Widodo said.
Kompas, a leading national newspaper, further praised cooperation as a “victory of [Indonesia’s] diplomacy”. Indonesia had started to receive the vaccines while “100 other countries have not yet secured access to vaccines”.
China began offering vaccine assistance to Southeast Asian countries in October 2020. Within the region, Beijing’s pandemic assistance has been unparalleled. Indonesia currently plans to inoculate more than 180 million of its 260 million population to reach herd immunity.
In light of this, some scholars have suggested Sino-Indonesian vaccine cooperation could compromise Jakarta’s position on the South China Sea territorial dispute. In reality, Indonesia has already taken steps to diversify its vaccine supplies and has reiterated its commitment to a peaceful, lawful approach to manage the South China Sea issue.