Indonesia as Türkiye’s Gateway to Southeast Asia

By Mehmet Enes Beşer

As global power turns east and multipolarity becomes the new signature of international relations, rising powers increasingly turn their attention to regional blocs rather than the archaic Western-centric geopolitics paradigm. In this respect, Türkiye and Indonesia present themselves as two great Muslim-majority countries, rising power, dynamic economies, and independent foreign policy aspirations. Although geographically distant from each other, they have values, post-colonial background, and a wish to be more engaged in the region and in the world. Türkiye, as it reorients Asian policy with the “Asia Anew” initiative (Yeniden Asya), has a natural ally and a window to the broad, varied, and strategically positioned world of Southeast Asia in Indonesia. This is not merely a matter of trade or investment—although these are considerable—but of cultural diplomacy, ideological identification, and mutual will to remake the global South.

Indonesia is ASEAN’s biggest economy, most populous country, and one of the more stable democracies in the region. It exercises disproportionate power over Southeast Asia’s political agenda, often playing balancer to competing powers and regional unity standard-bearer. For Türkiye, which has long been attempting to diversify its geopolitical contacts beyond its stalled hopes for EU membership prospects and ever more uncertain ties with NATO allies, Indonesia represents a serious and culturally palatable point of entry into the Southeast Asian region—a continent that is rapidly becoming the focus theater of the international competition for influence and economic advancement.

It is also economically enormous. The two countries have enormous and youthful populations, diversified industrial bases, and complementary industries. The mature defense industry, construction sector, and old culture of small-and-medium-sized enterprises in Türkiye can easily complement Indonesia’s infrastructure development plan and growing consumer market. Trade between the two countries is underdeveloped to the potential of both economies but is steadily expanding, particularly with the recent effort at negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). If implemented, such an agreement would not only increase bilateral trade volumes but also give Turkish firms access to the broader ASEAN market, which, collectively, is the world’s fifth-largest economy.

However, the economic aspect alone does not contain the full value of the Türkiye-Indonesia partnership. It is the cultural and civilizational basis of this relationship that makes the partnership so particularly promising. Both of them are Muslim democracies with a secular political life, rich histories of empire and well-developed civil societies. Contrary to most interest-based and transactional relationships, Türkiye and Indonesia are able to form a model of cooperation founded on shared values—pluralism, development, dignity, and autonomy. This cultural affinity facilitates more intense people-to-people connections, scholarly cooperation, and cooperative media or art projects that can serve as soft power bridges between Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

In a world growingly polarized along ideological fault lines, the Indonesia-Türkiye axis also offers a different voice—a voice that is neither Western nor authoritarian, neither neoliberal nor isolationist. Both countries practice some principled and pragmatic, regional and international in scope “hybrid diplomacy” of a kind. Turkish diplomatic engagement in Africa, Central Asia, and the Balkans is a replica of the Indonesian diplomatic approach in the Indo-Pacific, Non-Aligned Movement leadership, and vocal membership in Islamic multilateral forums such as the OIC. Both countries are able to come together and develop a model of South-South cooperation that does not borrow from Western models but draws on their own history and ambitions.

Cooperation in the areas of education and religious diplomacy holds the best promise. Indonesian students are already pursuing studies at Turkish universities, taking advantage of scholarships under programs of Türkiye Scholarships and Diyanet. Turkish institutions reciprocate in their turn by becoming more active in Southeast Asia through cultural centers and Islamic dialogue forums. These could be formalized into more structured forums such as jointly shared think tanks, exchange of civil servants and religious scholars, or co-hosted cultural festivals. These would support long-term public diplomacy goals and make politics- or commerce-based mutual perception more even-tempered.

Strategically, the partnership can be a balancing influence in a polarized region. With Southeast Asia having become a battleground between China and the United States, countries like Indonesia are trying to create middle ground—places that don’t force them to take sides but allow them to express their own agency. Türkiye is also establishing itself as an independent power that will not necessarily align with the West or fall prey to Eastern blocs. Toward this end, a strong alliance would not only be mutually beneficial to both nations bilaterally, but also draw other nations who are looking for independence in the great-power rivalry context. It would establish new models of regional cooperation that are inclusive, pluralistic, and immune to external coercion.

There are, of course, obstacles. Differences of culture and language, physical distance, and the lack of mutual visibility within the prevailing public discourse can induce inertia. But these are hardly insurmountable. In fact, they provide an opportunity: to invest in media diplomacy, tourism, and civil society exchange that spans the distance between Indonesian and Turkish society. The diplomatic structures are already in place—what is required now is a visionary imagination, consistent leadership, and the strategic vision to move outside convention.

Conclusion

The time has come when Indonesia and Türkiye should take their bilateral relationship to the stage of a strategic partnership that goes beyond economics and enters the field of cultural solidarity and geopolitical co-creation. Indonesia, from its moral leadership in Southeast Asia and the capacity of brokering between civilizations, provides an organic and legitimate opportunity for Türkiye in the region. Türkiye, with its international diplomatic reputation and historical configuration, is a like-minded nation with which Indonesia can rely on to enhance its voice in wider Islamic and international contexts.

In a shattered world where faith appears to collapse, and hegemonic claims encounter one another at every border, Indonesia and Türkiye may create the potential to fashion a new way—an alternative course grounded on respectful regard for each other, the interchange of culture, and intelligent pragmatism. The affiliation can take a shape neither purely of Western blocks nor strictly Eastern alliances. Rather, it has the promise of emerging as a novel pattern for diplomacy in the 21st century: it could be vibrant, post-colonial, and normed.

Indonesia is not only an economic or a regional partner. It is the key that can open the door for Türkiye’s deeper integration in one of the most important regions of the future. To perceive this is not only a matter of policy—it is a matter of vision. And if the two nations accept the challenge, they will not only redefine their own futures but help shape the new architecture of the Global South.