America’s Big Bet on Indonesia

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD / International New York Times | 4 Nov. 2014

Secretary of State John Kerry’s presence last month at the inauguration of President Joko Widodo of Indonesia was another sign of the Obama administration’s greater involvement in Asia. It was also an investment in America’s relationship with Indonesia, whose importance as an emerging democracy and the largest economy in Southeast Asia is sometimes overlooked.

Indonesia is the largest Muslim-majority country in the world, and its election, like Tunisia’s last month, is further evidence that Muslim nations can evolve peacefully under democratic systems. Some 135 million Indonesians cast ballots on July 22 as Mr. Widodo defeated Prabowo Subianto, a former general and son-in-law of the deposed dictator Suharto. The victory was even more remarkable because Mr. Widodo, a former governor of Jakarta who won by more than eight million votes, was the first president not to come from the political elite or the ranks of former generals.

The challenges facing Indonesia are considerable. Despite the country’s membership in the Group of 20 major economies, more than 100 million Indonesians live on $2 a day or less and the gap between rich and poor is at a high. Indonesia needs to reduce corruption, build roads and bridges, create jobs, expand education and tackle a $20 billion-plus fuel subsidy bill that benefits the wealthy above all and is depleting the budget. It needs to end the palm oil production that wiped out one-fifth of forested areas between 1990 and 2010 and turned the country into a top emitter of greenhouse gases.

Mr. Widodo has little experience with economic or foreign policy, and security issues as well, so he will have to learn quickly. The United States is counting on Indonesia to be a partner in its efforts to balance an increasingly aggressive China and to help manage disputes between China and other nations that lay claim to the South China Sea.

The Obama administration is also pressing Indonesia to redouble efforts to prevent the recruitment of new Muslim extremists to the Islamic State, crack down on terrorist financing and share intelligence with neighbors. Indonesia has had success over the last decade in keeping extremism in check through arrests and prosecutions, and it can be an example to others facing similar threats.

Indonesian politics are complicated at the best of times. With Mr. Widodo as president, the stage is now set for a long-term battle between reformers promising better governance for all people and an authoritarian, elitist old guard. The country will be best served if Mr. Widodo can stay true to his vision.