Fostering Initiatives of ASEAN-China relations as ASEAN Youth and as Indonesian
It was during my Geopolitics class that I deepened my understanding of China and its global significance. Along with other international students in my group, I was tasked to execute a deep oral presentation about China and its global political scheme. Unexpectedly, the research and brainstorming phases led to intense discussions. On the day of the presentation, each class member seemingly had something unique to say about the topic we’re presenting, particularly about China’s influence on their respective country. We dived deep into the pros and cons of initiatives such as the potential beneficiaries and disadvantaged as well as the rewards and challenges. What initially seemed like a standard class project evolved into an enriching debate about the far-reaching implications of a single country’s initiatives on other countries. This experience revealed to me not only just how impactful China is in the global context, but the effectiveness of global dialogue in evoking critical insights on geopolitical problems, especially when youths are involved.
This highlights the crucial role youth can play in effecting change by articulating their concerns and opinions to solve challenges between China and other nations. Hence, the promotion of intercultural dialogue involving critical thinking among youth is essential. This can be done through offering a medium to make their concerns heard, like conferences, youth panels, and establishments of youth organizations which provides training and skill-building towards real action. In the broader diplomatic context, this spirit of youth could be extracted to influence the formulation, alteration, or replacement of foreign policies for the betterment of global politics for all parties involved.
In the context of ASEAN-China relation, youth participation is a pertinent aspect in digging innovative and creative ideas. Forming the majority of ASEAN’s population, youth serves as a crucial communal resource for regional progress. Nonetheless, this demographic trend simultaneously presents alarming issues like inequality. As population density escalates, the likelihood of social and economic disparities also increases. For instance, ASEAN countries have a significant disparity between rural and urban areas, which lead to problems such as income inequality, unequal access to education and healthcare, and high pressures on urbanization. In Vietnam, despite significant economic growth, rural areas still experience higher poverty rates. Approximately 18% of the rural population lives below the national poverty line, compared to just 3.3% in urban areas. In Thailand, 79% of the poor still reside in rural areas (ASEAN). Meanwhile in Indonesia, there is a significant income gap between teachers in rural areas and those in cities, along with stark differences in educational resources and technology (GoodStats).
In tackling this challenge, infrastructure building and economic fortification are two aspects to be highlighted. As initiations on combating inequality take place, mobility and distribution will be prioritized. Therefore, infrastructure will inevitably be provoked upon its implementation. The Chinese investment in Indonesian infrastructure has been a pioneer in driving these efforts forward. It takes the toll on enhancing connectivity and economic development across various regions. The strategic development of ports, roads, and railways under initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative has aimed to reduce regional disparities by improving accessibility to remote areas and promoting economic diversification beyond urban centers.
Secondly, fortifying and diversifying economic resources is crucial for sustaining and strengthening the region’s economy. Economic diversification initiatives can help mitigate dependency on specific sectors and make way for other potential sectors to rise. Take into account the farming and mining industry. For instance, as an agricultural country with approximately 30 million workers in the sector, Indonesia still requires optimization as it continually launches harmful laws that marginalize the farm labor and keeps granting access to imported goods with low price while allocating low funds for agricultural research and technology. Emulating from the implemented China’s pro-farm policies, which prioritize social security, funds, and investment for farmers could address this issue through potential strategic partnership. Providing technology transfers to better quality production and distribution could elevate its market competitiveness while making the agricultural workforce more appealing, which strengthens human resources in the process. This also applies to ASEAN nations like Thailand and Cambodia who also rely on the agricultural sector.
A direct example is China-Indonesia nickel partnership. Through the partnership, Indonesia has declared itself as the biggest nickel manufacturer who controls approximately 60% of the global nickel supply, up from 20% within a decade (Amikom). The industry’s expansion has spurred new mining operations in rural and underdeveloped regions like Maluku and Sulawesi. It also has enhanced technological and skill transfer which creates more job opportunities for the locals, improves their living standards, and thereby reducing inequality. All these strategized and coordinated efforts could further enhance the bond and meaning of ASEAN and China relationship which stems from long history of trust and mutual respect as leading global players, ensuring a prosperous and sustainable future for both regions.
