Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation on Earth, a major producer of natural gas, coal, copper and other resources, has fertile soil, rich fauna and flora, and many tourist attractions. It is also the most populous nation of the Islamic world and at the same time heir to vigorous pre – Islamic traditions and complex cultural heritages with the diverse but related linguistic and ethnic communities of large archipelago, which make up a modern nation and the present-day Republic of Indonesia. After over 300 years of being a Dutch colony, on the 17th of August 1945, Indonesia proclaimed independence. On the turn of the 20th century, after a long and difficult process, Indonesia became one of the biggest economies and the third largest democracy in the world. The 2014 presidential election was won by Joko Widodo, who is widely known as Jokowi. He entered politics as a refreshingly honest candidate from a modest circle and finally came to power, promising reforms including a lot of sensible things such as boosting infrastructure, reducing subsidies, starting true maritime policy and attracting foreign investment. Jokowi also promised to return Indonesia to about 7% growth. His record after 2 years in power is rather positive but he faces the powerful forces of old elites and the bad habitude of old protectionism. President Joko Widodo must be attentive for “old demons” of contemporary Indonesia like corruption, Islamic radicalism and terrorism, separatism and also the danger of the ambiguous role and ambitions of the armed forces. His five – year cycle could give us information if Indonesia will become a new power in Asia and even on a global level, or if it will stay as before - the country which is always only promising a bright future.
The article presents deeply polarized Thai society, a political crisis and confrontation between supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra against the royalists. The article presents how the crisis was sending convulsions across the country and influencing foreign policy and international situation of Thailand. The author describes last months in office of the caretaker prime minister Ms Yingluck Shinawatra (youngest sister of Thaksin) when she faced charges of negligence and malfeasance for her role in approving a rice – pledging scheme, when the government purchased rice from farmers at inflated prices in a move to be permanently in power. The author presents also the dramatic days, when army general Prayuth Chan-ocha declared martial law in a move to quell escalating unrest. In the article the role of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej is shortly presented as well as enigmatic behaviour of successor – his only son Maha Vajiralongkorn. In the second part of the article the author presents reforms and policy of new prime minister general Prayuth, his promise about an election time frame. The article describes also the foreign policy of military government, and the role of Thailand in the growing competition between the big powers in the region of South East Asia, especially the United States and Japan against China.
The beginning of XXI century is characterized by the rise of the role of East Asia in the contemporary world. The rivalry of great powers embraced all region, included Southeast Asia, which for a long time was at the forefront of development and regional integration initiatives, especially with the ASEAN. It became the area of interventions and influences of major external powers such as the United States, China, India, Japan, Australia, and the EU and Russia. Unfortunately also old local animosities included unresolved territorial disputes and new challenges like terrorism and pandemics, affect Southeast Asia. The American presidential election campaign in 2016 and particularly campaign of Donald Trump exerted great influence on situation in Southeast Asia. Some controversial decisions of Donald Trump such as withdrawal from Trans Pacific Partnership and the absence of the clear policy in the region, after the policy of “pivot/rebalance” of president Obama, almost completely changed political situation in Southeast Asia. The immediate consequence is the rise of the Chinese position in the area and extraordinary activation of diplomacy of Japan, Vietnam and some other countries, making attempt to stop Chinese influence. The political situation in the region turned more dynamic, unforeseeable and complicated. The countries of Southeast Asia sooner or later will face the crucial choice between the United States and China.
Relations between Poland and Asia/Pacific have undergone a substantial change in the last two decades. Following deep political transformations in the years 1989–1993, Poland started a new chapter in its foreign policy. However, attention of its political elite was focused both on European affairs and Poland’s neighbouring countries, especially on the complicated relations with Germany and on the dramatic struggle for withdrawal of the Soviet, and, subsequently, Russian military forces from the Polish territory. Despite all the above mentioned difficult tasks Polish diplomacy had to face at the time, they also successfully developed and advanced relations with the Asia/Pacific region making the most of Poland’s recently regained independence from the communist camp. In the following years, the policy of Poland towards the Asia/Pacific region was overshadowed and strongly linked to (and influenced by) historical challenges, such as becoming the member of both the NATO and the European Union. In this period, the character and intensity of Polish relations with the Asia/ Pacific region have also depended on the major events in the world’s recent history, such as the accession of China to the WTO, two Iraqi wars, and, more recently, American ‘pivot’ to Asia. Finally, the author arrives at conclusions concerning the policy towards Asia/Pacific and presents recommendations for more efficient initiatives and stronger links with the region.
The rise of China as a powerhouse of the world economy and recently as a political and military superpower caused increasing interest of leading experts from most countries. Since the end of 2012, China has had a new leader, younger and with stronger personality than his predecessor, who made his debut on the international stage. From the beginning, China’s diplomacy has become more active, more comprehensive and innovative, more realistic and flexible. President Xi Jinping mobilized 1.3 billion Chinese people with the conception of the Chinese dream of great national renewal, simultaneously on the external front China remained committed to pursuing, maybe slightly differently, peaceful development and played a constructive role in the world. By promoting the development of two new giant initiatives, the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, President Xi Jinping planned to inject a strong impetus to the common development in Eurasia. Despite the recognition of high importance of the relation between the United States and China, President Xi Jinping extended the key role of the neighbourhood front in Chinese foreign policy and started to work vigorously to build a community of shared interests and destiny with Chinese neighbours. In 2014, President Xi Jinping said China needed to adopt big power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. The current Chinese foreign policy of President Xi Jinping is going to be an important challenge for the present international world system, governed by a “western” conception of order, drawn from liberal models and post-World War II rules. The new foreign policy of President Xi Jinping has as an objective to allow rising states, especially China, to be given more say to write new modified rules of international order in the contemporary world. At the same time, if the USA can successfully get the Trans-Pacific Partnership /TPP/ agreement off the ground, its confidence will get a boost. As a result, we are probably entering a new stage of the competition of two superpowers, and a new landscape in the world, especially in Asia, is now being formed.