Board of Peace Talks 'On Hold' Due to Iran Conflict, Indonesia Says - The Diplomat

Indonesia’s government says that it is reconsidering its membership in U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” initiative following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, the country’s foreign minister said.

Speaking to reporters late on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sugiono said that “all BoP discussions are on hold” due to the “situation in Iran,” Reuters reported. “We will also consult with our friends and colleagues in the Gulf because they are also under attack,” he added.

Since Friday, the Israeli and American assaults on Iran have killed more than 1,000 people and prompted spikes in oil prices after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has responded by launching missile and drone attacks against both Israel and states in the Gulf that house U.S. military facilities. Like many of its neighbors, Indonesia has denounced the outbreak of fighting, while President Prabowo Subianto has offered to travel to Tehran “to conduct mediation.”

Trump proposed the Board of Peace in September, after announcing his peace plan for Gaza. Prabowo was one of more than 30 world leaders who traveled to Washington, D.C. for the inaugural meeting of the Board on February 19. Indonesia was motivated to join by the ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S. government, which culminated in the signing of the U.S.-Indonesia Reciprocal Trade Agreement during Prabowo’s visit to Washington. Indeed, according to a report by Kompas, joining the BoP was the Trump administration’s precondition for the finalization of the agreement.

Membership in the BoP also played into Prabowo’s broader goal of enhancing Indonesia’s international diplomatic standing by participating more directly in the Gaza peace initiative. The Indonesian leaders have offered to contribute up to 8,000 troops to join the International Stabilization Force that is tasked with enforcing the U.S.-backed peace plan for Gaza. The first 1,000 will be ready to deploy by next month, with the remainder to follow in June.

At the same time, Indonesia’s participation in the Trump-led initiative has drawn criticism from foreign policy analysts and Muslim groups at home, who have criticized its lack of Palestinian representation and argued that it could compromise Jakarta’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause.

Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, a vice-chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), a leading clerical body, noted in early February that the BoP’s “leadership and dominant influence lie in the hands of figures and Western networks whose record on Palestine has long been controversial.”

This criticism has only intensified since the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran late last week. On March 1, the day after the first U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, the MUI said that the assaults rendered the initiative ineffective and that Indonesia should immediately withdraw from the body. Similar demands have been made by members of parliament.

All told, the Prabowo administration’s swift suspension of its membership in the Board of Peace reflects the political risks of Prabowo’s decision to join the initiative in the first place. In fact, the longer the current war continues, the likelier it becomes that Indonesia will abandon the initiative, and perhaps even the Gaza peace plan itself.