President Obama’s return to Indonesia this week was remarkable, in part, for the limited
attention it has garnered outside his childhood nation. You can’t walk through an airport bookshop without being inundated by bestsellers about China’s rise. India has always occupied a special
part in British hearts. But Indonesia is different. There are few in the British foreign policy establishment who really know the place.
Some British military officers know a few Indonesian counterparts through their time at Sandhurst and the Defence Academy. The human rights lobby grew familiar with Indonesia over years of protests against the Sukarno/Suharto dictatorships and the country’s mistreatment of East Timor. But, on the whole, little is still known about Indonesia.
This is unfortunate. For Indonesia is becoming increasingly influential globally, and not only as it represents a moderate Muslim country or a large market for British exports – though both are very important.
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