Will Indonesia’s New Foreign Minister Be Allowed to Do His Job?

Indonesia's appointment of a veteran diplomat with no prior foreign policy experience replaced by Nasir suggests a course correction away from the erratic, China-accommodating decisions of the previous two years—including the Natuna endorsement that appeared to validate China's nine-dash line claim. This stabilization of Indonesian foreign policy reduces the likelihood of deeper Chinese military-strategic penetration of the archipelago and strengthens Australia's strategic position in the Indo-Pacific by improving predictability of Southeast Asia's largest nation.