Indonesians Must Think Critically about Soft Power from China

VIVA – The bilateral relations between Indonesia and China are one of the things that can be maintained but Indonesia must think critically in establishing relations with China, because there are some rules that are not suitable and must be criticized.

"The Indonesian people must think critically in looking at China. There are some things that we think are not suitable, so criticize it. For example, the rules in inter-national relations," Professor A Dahana as the founder of the Indonesian Sinology Forum (FSI) in an official statement during a discussion entitled "Reassessing China's Soft Power in Indonesia: A Critical Review," at the WU Hub Working Space, Jakarta, on Saturday.

Dahana considers that through efforts to increase its soft power in various countries, including Indonesia, China is trying to become a cultural imperial power.

However, he reminded that besides trying to instill soft power, China is also trying to exercise hard power.

According to him, this can be seen from China's actions in the South China Sea and from China's various violations of Indonesia's sovereign rights in the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone (ZEE) in the waters near the Natuna islands.

On the same occasion, Dr. Tuty N Mutia, a senior lecturer at the University of Indonesia's China Studies Program, said that China has been trying to increase its soft power in Indonesia.

"Among other things, through public diplomacy in the cultural and academic fields, increasing cooperation in the academic and vaccine fields, and utilizing history by revealing the memory of the closeness of the two nations," she added.

She also said: "all three have not shown positive results for improving China's image,"

China also uses several other strategies, including cooperating with Muslims by providing scholarships for students, Mutia remarked.

According to Mutia, this strategy cannot be separated from China's efforts to reduce the human rights issues affecting the Muslim population in Uyghur.

In general, China's efforts to increase its soft power in Indonesia have not achieved maximum results. According to her, one of the reasons is the narrative used which only shows China's superiority.

"The narrative tends to prioritize Chinese excellence so that it feels more like an effort of 'sinification' (humiliation)," she added. 

Meanwhile, Johanes Herlijanto, as chairman of the Indonesian Sinology Forum highlighted the position of the Chinese community in China's efforts to increase its soft power in Indonesia

He revealed that there is an effort by China to embrace the Chinese community for the benefit of improving relations between Indonesia and China by encouraging them to become bridges.

Previously, Herlijanto emphasized that Indonesians are expected to maintain a critical attitude in consuming news and entertainment content from China that can be accessed through domestic media and digital media platforms.

For example, through efforts to balance information from the country with information from sources that are free from government of China supervision.