ST Deep Dive: Indonesian Islam, Cambodian balancing
Here's a round-up of recent commentaries and more by think-tanks in the region and elsewhere that could be of interest to those who watch Asia.
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Islam in Indonesia
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation, held its five-yearly congress in December to elect its leadership and determine its position on pertinent socio-religious issues.
In the contest for the top position, Mr Yahya Staquf's projection of himself as the embodiment of regeneration and the representative of the younger generation found success.
Inevitably, NU's decisions bear wide-ranging implications for the world's biggest nation of Muslims.
Mr Yahya's leadership is expected to facilitate the emergence of younger leaders in NU's structure and a more expansive role for NU in the global arena, says Dr Syafiq Hasyim, visiting fellow at the Iseas – Yusof Ishak Institute, and Dr Hui Yew-Foong, visiting senior fellow and coordinator of the institute’s Indonesia Studies Programme.
Positions that NU has taken on climate change, the land rights of common people, and legislative protection of domestic workers reflect its increasingly progressive role in Indonesian society, they say.
Separately, this paper examines the situation for minority Shia Muslims in the largely Sunni Muslim nation.
It says, under the current Joko Widodo presidency, Shias have suffered less harassment and intimidation than under previous governments.
Cambodia between a rock and a hard place
Cambodia's reported permission to allow China to build a naval base in Sihanoukville has lately gathered a burst of fresh attention.
While the development is not new – these reports have been appearing for at least three years – its re-emergence has coincided with the landslide victory of the Cambodian People's Party in the commune elections earlier this month.
In this commentary for Iseas – Yusof Ishak Institute, visiting fellow Chanrith Ngin argues that Cambodia is artfully hedging between China and the United States.
While embracing China, he says, Cambodia cannot afford to upset the US.
This is because the Western superpower is its largest export market, specifically through the generous Generalised System of Preferences system.
Indeed, Cambodia has amplified efforts to improve its image in Washington, he says.
Transatlantic tango on China
One of the reasons why the recently concluded Asian Security Summit hosted by Singapore, otherwise known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, marks an inflection point is that it brought a fusing of the European and Indo-Pacific theatres in strategic minds.
I discussed this in my Speaking of Asia column and examined the consequences.
One reason for this development is of course the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Russian invasion has raised worries that similar events may await Asia.
The other is that by design, or accident, or a combination of both, the Biden administration is making progress on making partnership with Europe a central element of its China strategy. The approach is not exactly new; the Trump administration had made some progress, especially on issues such as shutting out Chinese contractors from 5G telecommunications contracts.
However, the depth and breadth of transatlantic cooperation that is emerging now is impressive.
For an informed discussion on this and the implications for China policy, I found a recent paper circulated by the German Marshall Fund of the United States useful.
The co-authors are the fund's senior transatlantic fellow Andrew Small, Dr Bonnie Glaser who is the director of the fund’s Asia Programme, and Dr Garima Mohan, a fellow in the Asia Programme.
Colonial outreach
Without question, India has outgrown the "colonial cringe" after 75 years of life as an independent nation.
Indeed, it may even have overdone its deliberate detachment from the relics of empire.
Professor C. Raja Mohan, visiting research professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies, writes that after decades of ignoring the Commonwealth of Nations – including skipping some of its meetings – New Delhi now believes that a rejuvenated Commonwealth could lend greater depth to India's global outreach.
Delhi's renewed interest in the Commonwealth is based on common sense.
As India's global interests expand, the realists in Delhi argue that India must make the best use of all available multilateral forums, including the Commonwealth.
There is another reason: China is making inroads in some Commonwealth states.
Quad plus
Now that a new government is in place in Canberra, new ideas are surfacing that seek to influence the thinking of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Cabinet.
One such, published by the Lowy Institute of Sydney, relates to Quad, as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue involving Australia, the US, Japan and India is known.
Mr Henry Storey, a senior analyst at Dragoman, a Melbourne-based political risk consultancy, argues that while there is no suggestion that the Quad should be written off, it never hurts to have an insurance policy.
Australia, he says, should continue to explore other avenues for contributing to regional security and prosperity.
