"Germany needs a new partner, Indonesia replaces European morality and arrogance! "！
Germany has made a clear statement that it will sever diplomatic relations with China, and it is already looking for other partners. "Indonesia is the largest economic power in Southeast Asia and an alternative to other Western powers besides China, but Europe's influence in the region has diminished because it is perceived as a moral superiority and arrogance," said the German newspaper Die Welt. There is a good chance that the situation will get worse this Wednesday in Indonesia.
Indonesia, the fourth country in the world, will elect a new president on Wednesday. Due to its large nickel deposits, Indonesia is already the number one economic power in Southeast Asia. Indonesia's economy is expected to surpass Germany and become one of the world's top five by 204.
In November, Prabovo-Subiano made his view of Europe clear: "We have opened the market to Europe and let you **Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Airbus, however, we cannot ** palm oil in Europe. ”
He continued: "The world has changed, and frankly, we don't need it anymore in Europe. We love Europe, but Europe doesn't like us, it's a kind of "double standard".
"Although Europe is still seen as a key partner," Germany writes. But in fact, Europe has become irrelevant for Indonesia, as many people see Europe as a sign of arrogance. The Liberal** agreement with Europe has been on hold for many years, and almost no one thinks that this will become a reality. Today, China has become Indonesia's most important partner.
The loss of relations with Southeast Asia's most critical countries would put Europe under China's control.
Indonesia's electors are very young, with more than half of the 120 million voters between the ages of 17 and 39, and many of them were not overthrown until Suharto's rule in 1998.
The current ** candidate Subianto used to be an aunt of Suharto. In opinion polls, the former general's approval rating was much higher than that of the other two rivals.
At 72 years old, Subianto was well received by young voters. During the election process, he focused on issues of great importance to young people: jobs, climate change and, however, maintaining a friendly foreign policy and friendly relations with Europe were not on the list.
Dennis Suarsana, chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Association in Jakarta, Indonesia, said: "Although Europe is Indonesia's 5th largest partner, it is almost at a standstill.
In addition to palm oil, Europe has also started sourcing coal from Indonesia after the war in Ukraine. However, Jakarta's main partners are China and the United States, and Jakarta has tried to put itself in a position as far as possible against these two powers.
Subianto spoke of a rift in the ties between Indonesia and Europe. An important factor in this is that Indonesia is the world's largest producer of palm oil, and in April this year, the European Union adopted a rule. But now, palm oil has become a global threat, as Indonesia already uses Borneo's rainforests as a raw material to refine palm.
So far, Indonesia has become the third largest consumer of palm in Europe. However, just last year, Brussels** declared that only unharvested forest land could import palm oil from the EU. This regulation is unattainable for many small-scale palm oil growers in Indonesia.
According to the EU, "this rule is valid for anyone outside Europe, without any punitive or protective nature, and aims to create a level playing field".
But Subiando disagreed, accusing Europe of forcing Indonesians to grow tea, coffee, rubber and cocoa during colonial times. Indonesia did not become a Dutch colony until World War II. Subianto said"Before, you destroyed our woods, and now here you are.
The EU's reputation in Indonesia has already stinked," said Su-Asana, director of Adenauer**. The people are tired of European hypocrisy and arrogance. Today, Indonesians have good reason to become more confident. This is due to the fact that Indonesia has a much-needed resource in Europe and Germany: nickel.
Indonesia has a large amount of nickel ore, which is particularly urgently needed by automakers like Germany to power electric vehicles and thus convert their energy.
However, in 2020, Indonesia began exporting untreated nickel ore"。"Subianto said in the election: "We have been exporting raw materials at low prices for a long time. But we can't go on like this. We handle it ourselves and can reach double-digit growth rates.
Voters in Indonesia applauded the campaign pledge. Although Europe has won the WTO, Indonesia has objected to it. The final decision may take years.
For large economies like China, the ban could also have a knock-out. China has become Indonesia's largest supplier of raw materials so far. China is investing heavily in its own processing capacity to continue sourcing raw materials from Indonesia. At present, Chinese companies are mainly responsible for the processing of raw materials in Indonesia. It's hard for European companies to get involved.
While Indonesia doesn't rely much on China, Indonesians generally find it much easier to deal with Beijing than with Europe. China also conducted it in Indonesia"The Belt and Road Initiative"Infrastructure construction of the project.
China has built a high-speed railway in the capital, Jakarta, and a high-speed railway from Jakarta to Bandung. In January, Chinese automaker BYD (BYD) said it would invest about 1.3 billion yuan to build an electric vehicle production base in Indonesia, with the goal of building the country's largest electric vehicle brand. Subiando came up with an attractive project, which looks very productive.
He said:"I don't want to engage in ** protection, I want a fair market.
Even if the European media have long recognized that friendly ties between Europe and Indonesia are a good thing for them, it could be an alternative to China. Germany is trying to break away from its excessive economy, from China. However, since 2016, negotiations on a free trade agreement between Europe and Indonesia have broken down. In 12 months, the two sides held their 16th meeting.
Earlier in 2023, the outgoing Indonesian Joko Wido and the head of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, had pledged to complete the package by the National Assembly on February 14, but it was unsuccessful.
But for European journalism, "the victory of a former general who has been involved in **, tortured and kidnapped since the 80s of the last century may be enlightening." ”