Indonesia’s position as a G20 presidential country when it was in a difficult situation, on a national scale, Indonesia is still struggling with its domestic affairs that cannot be completed in a matter of days, the scarcity of some basic materials, the unfriendly local political atmosphere to this day, and several series of events. other issues that need to be resolved immediately. Meanwhile, on an international scale, Indonesia must immediately determine its position in an effort to achieve world economic security and stability. However, as a country that adheres to a “Free and Active” policy, this would be a big challenge as well as an opportunity for Indonesia at this time. On the one hand, Indonesia’s impartiality towards one country is to maintain the characteristics of its foreign policy, but this also results in a greater threat to Indonesia. Indonesia’s impartiality towards any country has the potential to be hostile to the two countries, in a simple analogy, if Indonesia does not take sides with one or the other, both of them will hate Indonesia. This is like a kindergartner who is fighting, the neutral is more considered a traitor by both parties. The problems that arise later from this distrust will have an impact on Indonesia’s economic affairs and income (import -export). However, this also has good potential for the Indonesian economy if Indonesia can be firm and take the attitude to take control of the country.
Russia controls 40% of EU member states’ gas supplies. The government has complete control over the supply and distribution of Russian gas by Gazprom, a state-owned gas supplier corporation. Gas is plainly in short supply in the European Union for power generation and transportation. The European Union and Gazprom have two sorts of agreements: long-term agreements and periodic purchases based on volume measurements.
From Russia to the European continent, at least five gas distribution lines exist. If, for example, Gazprom closes the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, as well as the Yamal Pipeline, and the Russia-Ukraine war continues, Europe may face a gas catastrophe.
The EU’s reliance on Russian gas is one of the reasons why the nations of the blue continent appear more rigid in their approach to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. This circumstance, however, can be “utilized” by Indonesia.
If the war continues, European nations will require alternate resources for power generation owing to the prospect of constrained gas supplies from Russia. Coal energy is expected to be viewed as the most likely option. Given that Indonesia is the world’s second largest coal exporter, the government should be concerned. Indeed, the European Union has made a long-term commitment to phase out the usage of coal. However, according to Reuters statistics, the European Union’s coal imports climbed by 35.1 percent in December 2021.
Indonesia has the ability to play a significant role in managing coal prices. For example, Indonesia might limit coal supply to ten export destination nations and offer coal from Indonesia to the European Union. Indonesia can benefit from the likelihood of increased coal prices, which had previously fallen, under this arrangement.