[RECAP] Beyond the Great Wall #11: The Rise and Future of China’s Power Projection

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On 20 November 2020, Institute of International Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada organized its 11th edition of Beyond the Great Wall via Zoom discussing “The Rise and Future of China’s Power Projection”. Invited in the forum were Angelo Wijaya, founder of Student Association of Belt and Road Initiative (SABRI) Chapter UGM and Demas Nauvarian, a international relations graduate student in Universitas Airlangga.Angelo presented his review of the book Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap, while Demas delivered his presentation discussing “The Evolution of Chinese Geostrategic Thinking and Strategic Culture: From Sea Power to Space Power.” Indrawan Jatmika, researcher for IIS UGM, helped moderate the discussion.

Angelo began his review stating that in the near future, China is going to become the number one strongest power in the world as its economy will rise in 2024, even topping the US. Such potential certainly becomes a threat to the US, hence the US’ tendencies to disagree and contend with China, and eventually waging the trade war. The book Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’ Trap attempts to complement Thucydides’ argument in his legendary tale The Peloponnesian War. Graham Allison, the author of the book, introduces the term “Thucydides’ trap” to describe the tendency to wage war when a new power emerges to replace existing ones. The argument is not entirely correct as, in reality, not all countries have such tendency.

One question, then, emerges: will China and the US be able to survive the Thucydides’ trap? Angelo laid out a few points that the US needs to pay close attention to. First, they need to reconsider and clarify their vital interests. In this case, is the South China Sea dispute of top priority? Moreover, they need to examine more closely what the Chinese are doing, particularly in regards to its foreign policy. They will, then, need to proceed with the strategies—which, in its formulation, should consider conditions at the macro level—accordingly. Lastly, domestic challenges should also be taken into consideration in the formulation of foreign policy. Said challenges include the matter of trust given by domestic institutions, social political system, and the general public.

Angelo wrapped up his speech with a call to perceive China’s rise holistically; basically, China’s rise also caters to the US interest. “In its path to becoming a new power, it’s wise to recall this quote from the Spiderman movie, with a great power comes greater responsibility,” Angelo said.

The second session focused on China’s rarely discussed space and naval power. In explaining China’s grand strategy to harmonize their power instruments, Demas showcased that there were two approaches the Chinese use: (1) the geostrategic—prioritizing geographic factors—and military approach; (2) the strategic cultural approach which deals with geographic and historic aspects as means to achieve welfare. Just as every country prioritizes certain issues in the purpose of increasing their power, China prioritizes its naval sector.

Speaking on naval strategy, Demas explained that two theoretical approaches could be utilized in examining a state’s classical sea power. First, the Mahan approach believes that naval strategy ought to focus on navy modernization. Hence, use of the navy, strength, and sea control constitute the most important factors. The second approach, Corbett’s maritime strategy, highlights the need to combine land and sea factors to control the sea. Military and civil elements, land and sea power, as well as sea command are crucial. Since adopting the naval sector strategy, China repeatedly used different approaches in accordance to its ever-changing leadership goals. As of now, China’s strategy focuses on defending what they own and claiming on whatever they don’t. The strategy explicitly exhibits how China tends to be assertive in border issues, most importantly in the South China Sea dispute.

Meanwhile, Demas argued that China’s space strategy depends on its maritime strategy. Currently, the Chinese space force is focusing on various cooperation efforts with other countries for development. While its gradually rising space force seemingly threatens western countries, it is important to note that China’s strategies in achieving its goals always differ with that of the west’. In its strategy formulation, China perceives the world in two different ways. One way is through the lens of Confucianism which avoids use of military means to fulfill national goals. Another way is the realist para bellum perspective which believes that the nature of international politics is anarchic, hence the need to wage war. China sees from both perspectives in arranging its grand strategy of space and naval power.

 

[RECAP] Beyond The Great Wall #10 : China: Initiatives in Energy and Transportation

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On Friday (18/9), Institute of International Studies/IIS UGM organized another edition of its bimonthly discussion forum Beyond the Great Wall/BTGW online. In its tenth edition, present were Alfin Febrian Basundoro, Vice President of UPII UGM and Caesar Leonardo, Director of Student Association of Belt and Road Initiative/SABRI UGM Chapter. Under the theme “China: Initiatives in Energy and Transportation”, the two speakers spoke on China’s dynamics in developing the two sectors which boost the growth of Chinese economy, namely energy and transportation.

Alfin began the first session by delivering his presentation on “New Eurasian Land Bridge: China’s Railroad Sector Expansion”. The railroad sector has long been serving as the backbone of the Chinese economy, in which all provinces in China had been linked via railway by 2007. With a total 140,000 km of railway, the massive rail network supports provision of rapid trains for millions of citizens and names China the country with the longest rapid train network in the world. Besides domestic development, regional cooperation realized through New Eurasian Land Bridge also supported China’s railroad expansion.

New Eurasian Land Bridge/NELB is a rail-based corridor linking China, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. As part of the Belt and Road Initiative, this program is an implementation of the modern silk road aimed at supporting intercontinental economic activities via Central Asia. Compared to the sea route which is relatively longer and takes more time to pass, land route is ultimately a better alternative. Moreover, land route allows better movements of commodities as trains are able to carry more cargo compared to planes.  Since its first operation in 2011, NELB saw significant increase in traffic every year and has been playing an important role linking two continents and promoting Chinese-European investment.

Alfin claimed that NELB benefited both parties; however, to achieve such benefits, it needs to face challenges ahead. To China, NELB promises effectivity, as well as ease of transportation and movement of commodity; bolsters increase in trade with European countries; and supports diversification of commodities exported. To Eurasian countries, NELB guarantees new free trade zone in Central Asia, Eurasian interconnectivity, and connection to other European economic corridors. On the other hand, NELB needs to overcome several obstacles, ranging from differences in railway width, imbalanced infrastructure, political conditions of related countries, to lack of human resource standardization.

He concluded that NELB is of paramount importance to China’s long-running railroad expansion. Not only does NELB serves China’s interests, but also it supports Central Asian development by providing effective distribution route to accelerate movement of commodities from two continents. No wonder NELB is one of the five priority programs of China’s in Central Asia.

Leo delivered the second session discussing “Chinese Nuclear Energy Initiatives”. Similar with that of transportation, the energy sector is central for the growth of modern Chinese economy. Nuclear development, initiated by Mao Zedong, began in 1950s and was limited to nuclear as mere weapons. Under Deng Xiaoping, nuclear was perceived as more of an alternative energy source through his program of “four modernizations” as one of the answers to the question of Chinese energy security. Qinshan nuclear reactor, then, became China’s first and started operation in 1991. Its establishment commenced the era of Chinese progressive nuclear energy development, which is expected to surpass American and European reactor energy export by 2035.

According to Leo, China preferred nuclear energy to other alternative sources due to several advantages. Nuclear emits less emission compared to fossil fuel because of its high material efficiency. Moreover, nuclear-generated electricity is relatively affordable compared to that from fossil fuel or solar panel. Politics-wise, western countries already left nuclear behind and started seeking other safer alternatives. Hence, China has the opportunity to lead the global nuclear energy development industry.

China’s nuclear orientation experienced a significant shift. As Leo mentioned, under Deng, China developed nuclear for the sake of domestic energy security. Hence, China cooperated with other nuclear-experienced countries like France and the US. To tackle the problem of limited resources, China also imported uranium from African countries to secure supply. Now, as China has achieved domestic energy security and possessed enough experiences in developing nuclear energy, it prepares itself to become a producer who promotes nuclear energy use to others. BRI supports such shift by giving space for China to initiate cooperation with other countries in developing their own nuclear industries.

Leo wrapped up his presentation by showcasing a number of future challenges China needs to face in developing its nuclear. First, there is an existing doubt in developing nuclear due to security problems like reactor leaks in Chernobyl and Fukushima, as well as issues of radioactive waste. Second, other alternative energy sources are more popular. Top fossil fuel industries like Total preferred to invest in solar panels or air turbins compared to nuclear. Third, China’s domestic politics still prefer fossil fuel. The government favors fossil that dominates domestic industrial use, despite the chance of being a global pioneer in nuclear development. All three problems, Leo believes, are the hindrances China has to overcome in the future of nuclear energy development.

[RECAP] 75 Years Too Long: Ending the Age of Nuclear Weapons Through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

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On Saturday, 15 August 2020, Institute of International Studies UGM, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross/ICRC and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons/ICAN, organized a webinar titled “75 Years Too Long: Ending the Age of Nuclear Weapons through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” as a part of the “75th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing Series”. Speaking on the webinar were Tim Wright, Campaign Coordinator for ICAN, and Christian Donny Putranto, legal advisor for ICRC; moderated by Muhadi Sugiono, a lecturer of Department of International Relations UGM and also a campaigner for ICAN.

The first speaker, Christian Donny Putranto, explained the correlation between nuclear weapons and international humanitarian law. Intrigued by the severe humanitarian repercussions of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombing, ICRC invited the members of Geneva Convention 1946 to develop a treaty regulating the use of nuclear weapons in 1950. Seventy years since the initiative was brought up, plenty of legal instruments regarding nuclear weapons have been formalized. However, all of them remain as partial bans. Some only regulate the proliferation aspect of them, while the others prohibit testing on specific locations (like the sea or earth/moon orbits). To this day, there hasn’t been a single treaty that possesses the power to fully ban nuclear weapons worldwide.

In fact, when observed through the lens of international humanitarian law, the use of nuclear weapons violates the principles of: (1) distinction, as the weapon is unable to distinguish civilians from combatants when launching attacks; (2) proportionality, since nuclear weapons cause disproportionately large damage compared to its initial military objective; (3) precautions, due to its nature of causing unnecessary suffering. Unfortunately, despite causing an endless cycle of suffering, international humanitarian law hasn’t specifically regulated the use of nuclear weapons. At the end of his presentation, Donny asked all parties to prioritize humanity above all else in this matter. He wrapped up with an important reflection: that weapons risking catastrophic humanitarian consequences can’t possibly be viewed as providing people security.

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The next speaker, Tim Wright from ICAN, demonstrated the urgency of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons/TPNW. According to him, there are 30,000 existing nuclear weapons up to this day. This is disheartening, considering its detrimental impact on many aspects of human lives, including migration crisis, declining climate condition, famine caused by disruption of agriculture production, and direct physical damage on survivors. Currently, there is only one treaty which can be devised to abolish the weapon, which is the TPNW.

TPNW was formalized in 2017 to oversee the total abolition and discontinuation of nuclear weapons development, including pre-existing ones. The Treaty fully bans nuclear weapons, meaning there is no single circumstance under which nuclear weapons are allowed to be deployed nor developed. To date, 122 countries have signed the treaty, with only 44 of them having ratified it. The Treaty needs another six ratifications to enter into force.

The belief in the deterrence effect of nuclear weapons remains a major obstacle for countries to sign or ratify the Treaty. Tim argued that the most effective way to counter this paradigm is to burden nuclear-armed countries with negative stigma.

Specifically speaking on Indonesia’s role in TPNW, Tim reckoned that the government needs to ratify the treaty as a concrete action to abolish nuclear weapons. As a member of the Non-Bloc Movement, Indonesia has been actively expressing its concerns about nuclear weapons as a threat to humanity at international fora. Yet, Tim believed Indonesia still has room to enhance its participation in talking about the morality of the weapons. Most importantly, Indonesia needs to ratify the Treaty to deem it legitimate and finally free the world from nuclear threat.

Penulis : Brigitta Kalina Tristani Hernawan

Penyunting : Medisita Febrina

[RECAP] Virtual Photo Exhibition: Through the Eyes of Hibakujumoku: Living Under the Shadows of Nuclear Weapons

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In commemoration of the seventy-fifth year since the Hiroshima-Nagasaki tragedy, Institute of International Studies/ IIS UGM organized a virtually-guided photo exhibition titled “Through the Eyes of Hibakujumoku: Living Under the Shadows of Nuclear Weapons” on 9 August, 2020. In collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross/ICRC, the exhibition was initiated by IIS UGM as part of the 75th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing Series. It tried to showcase the urgency of nuclear weapons ban through ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Muhadi Sugiono, a campaigner for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons/ICAN, and Sonya Teresa, an IIS researcher, guided the event.

The event was divided into three sections: virtual exhibition, breakout sessions, and question-and-answer session. The virtual exhibition, itself, comprised of three stages. The first, “A World of Dark Ashes”, told accounts of the catastrophe in the perspective of hibakujumoku—in Japanese, meaning trees that survived the bombing—through narrations delivered by the guide.  The photographs, collected from ICRC, ICAN, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and other reliable sources exhibited post-explosion atrocities—both physical and psychological—which brought immense trauma upon survivors to this day.

In the second stage, “Greedy Rulers and Screams in Silence”, participants looked at how states insisted on developing nuclear weapons despite evident destructive effects. The photographs also told stories of social movements against nuclear weapons development since the 1950s. However, nuclear race persisted in the 1980s, particularly between the US and the Soviet Union. The phenomenon incited larger demonstrations in Europe, the US, and Japan.

The last stage, “In Our Future, Will Nuclear Weapons Still Be There?”, showcased how states have started discussions on nuclear weapons ban since 1996. However, clash of interest between states continued to be the biggest obstacle in the creation of a legal instrument. In 2017, UN issued a mandate in the form of negotiation for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. To this day, 82 states have signed the Treaty, while 44 others have ratified it. To ensure total abolition, the Treaty needs another seven states to ratify. This is where the Indonesian government needs to step in.

After the exhibition ended, the participants were divided into three small breakout rooms. In the small discussion forums led by IIS representatives, the participants tried to reflect several important questions related to the photographs and the stories behind them: When you hear the word Hiroshima and Nagasaki, did you imagine the same impression as that of hibakujumoku’s? Does the reasoning behind nuclear weapons development make sense? If there were to be a nuclear explosion now, will you survive? The majority of participants agreed that nuclear weapons development is not worth the after effect. Hence, it is necessary that states fully realize the importance of disarmament and total abolition. After answering and exchanging thoughts on the matter, the discussion continued in the larger forum for a question-and-answer session, with added insights from Muhadi Sugiono and Christian Donny Putranto, legal advisor for ICRC.

Writer : Brigitta Kalina Tristani Hernawan

Editor : Medisita Febrina

[RECAP] IIS UGM Emergency Response to Mitigate the Repercussions of the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Together with Center for World Trade Studies (CWTS UGM), Institute of International Studies (IIS UGM) took part in alleviating the negative effects of the pandemic on businesses by participating in the community service grant scheme provided by Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL UGM). Starting from 12 June 2020, the team, led by Siti Daulah Khoiriati, MA—a lecturer in the Department of International Relations UGM—implemented a program titled “Reinforcement of Women-Owned Home-Based Businesses in the Wake of COVID-19 through Social Media-Based Online Marketplace”. This activity targeted the members of all-female Koperasi Mitra Insani located in Godean, Yogyakarta, in which most of the members acted as breadwinners in the family. Amidst the pandemic, income for members of the co-op—which mostly sold F&B products—decreased as their food stalls were forced to close down to prevent transmission. Hence, the program aimed to enable the members to continue commercial activities by equipping them with digital literacy and social media utilization skills.  

As the pandemic situation required physical distancing, the program was delivered weekly through Whatsapp. For three consecutive weeks, IIS and CWTS UGM shared useful know-hows with members of the co-op which will help them in promoting and selling their goods—ranging from F&B to garments—online. The insights included elaboration on Whatsapp features for promotional purposes, ways to take decent pictures of the products, and best food packing methods. Tito Ardiyan, a professional photographer, as well as Arifah, a researcher in CWTS UGM and lecturer in the Faculty of Agriculture UGM, were invited to help in delivering the insights. 

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Immediately after the sessions ended, the members practiced the previously-taught skills. They were able to utilize Whatsapp status and broadcast features to spread information about the products. Promotion became even more effective as they took better pictures with adequate lighting, right angles, as well as color contrast. Lastly, the products would stay fresh longer as the members were able to minimize oxygen exposure better.  

In order to boost online commercial activities, IIS UGM helped in creating a new online marketplace flow using Whatsapp. The members will promote their products through a Whatsapp business account organized by Ibu Askiyah as head of the co-op. Customers will view the co-op’s products through a catalogue published on the account and contact the account to place a purchase. Setting up a business account, hopefully, will centralize transactions and enable better promotion, as well as simplify organization of transactions on a larger scale. In detail, here is how the online marketplace will work: 

  1. The organizer will store images of each member’s products to establish an online catalogue.
  2. The organizer will include images of the products on the catalogue and promote them.
  3. Customers will place purchases and finish payments via Whatsapp business account. 
  4. Members will ship the goods directly to customers.
  5. The organizer will hand the revenue to the members after charging an administration fee. The fee will be collected to pursue collective necessity.

IIS UGM also collaborated with jogjabregas.id, a community service initiative in the form of an information base containing insights on best ways to adapt to the pandemic practiced by people residing in Yogyakarta. The insights are placed under four themes, revolving around topics of education and welfare, including Segar Waras, Kampung Berdaya, Pintar dari Rumah, and Serba Serbi COVID. 

Through production of infographics, articles, and podcasts, IIS UGM collaborated with jogjabregas.id in disseminating information under section Kampung Berdaya. In hopes of educating the public, the program aims to share inspiring stories and honorable initiatives to maintain health, safety, and welfare set up by Yogyakarta residents in the middle of COVID-19 spread.

Writer: Brigitta Kalina, Denise Michelle, Medisita Febrina
Translator: Medisita Febrina

[RECAP] Beyond The Great Wall #9 : China and Issues Amidst the New Normal

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On Saturday (11/7), Institute of International Studies (IIS UGM) organized its bimonthly discussion forum Beyond the Great Wall/BTGW virtually. The ninth edition of BTGW invited Julian Lilihata, MA, alumna of Tsinghua University and Arrizal Anugerah Jaknanihan, undergraduate student of Department of International Relations UGM. The discussion titled “China: Issues Amidst the New Normal” tried to illustrate the challenges China is facing in the era of new normal, while still fighting the relentless COVID-19 pandemic.

Julian began the discussion, “The Second Wave of Coronavirus in Beijing”, by describing the situation of the first wave pandemic in China. When the first outbreak occurred in Wuhan, there had been a mistake in declaring the outset of the virus spread as a result of obscure reporting. According to South China Morning Post, the first case was discovered on 17th November 2019, while Wall Street Journal reported that the first case was detected on 10th December 2019. At the dawn of the outbreak, eight doctors tried to warn the public and conduct research on the virus. However, they were stopped by the Wuhan Public Security Bureau and were called to sign a letter declaring their involvement in illegal activity that disrupted public order. The signing was aired via Xinwen Lianbo.

Serious actions were only taken in the beginning of 2020. On 1st January 2020, the authorities closed Huanan Seafood Market (where the first cases of COVID-19 were discovered). Two weeks later, massive temperature measurement was conducted in several public spaces. People with high body temperature were immediately taken to the hospital. In Beijing, the first two cases were identified on 19th January 2020. Five days following the discovery, plenty of prevention measures were applied, namely days off work, provision of face masks and hand sanitizers, temperature measurement, disinfection, centralized treatment for COVID-19 patients in 89 hospitals, and termination of religious events and long-distance transportation services. Activities in the week prior to Chinese New Year holiday—from 24th January to 2nd February—were major factors in the spike of cases, in which people still travel with public transportations and go on vacations despite lockdown in Wuhan beginning on 23rd January.

Following the Chinese New Year influx, the first wave of COVID-19 cases in Beijing peaked on 5th February with additional 114 cases. In response to the phenomenon, the government put various prevention measures in place. In order to disseminate precise and accurate information about government’s discretion regarding the pandemic, mobile application Beijing Health Kit Apps was launched as a medium of communication between the government and the people. The app also served as a digital identification card that can be used in public facilities. Moreover, purchase of fever medicine required identification card as an attempt to record possible COVID-19 cases. The Beijing Social Security Bureau also provided protection for dual-income families. As a result of such fast response, the curve between the first and last two weeks of COVID-19 cases in Beijing fell.

Subsequent to the outbreak, numerous adaptations and changes were made, such as new eating manner and change in reckless spitting habit. Changes were also made in foreign flights, in which foreign citizens were suggested not to fly back to Beijing as many cases were “imported”, meaning that many were transmitted from foreign citizens. The government even stopped direct flights to Beijing and diverted the flights to surrounding cities with less COVID-19 cases. Three days after COVID-19 cases peaked in Beijing, the ban on foreign citizens entry were imposed on 27th March.

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By the end of the first wave, COVID-19 death rate was lower compared to SARS 2003 by virtue of maximal treatment and aggressive prevention policy enforcement. Moreover, digitalization played an important role, as it effectively reduced direct contact through practice of cashless transactions, simplified identification process through digital identification card, and assisted information distribution via Beijing Health Kit App used daily by the people. The presence of volunteers also contributed immensely to alleviating the spread of COVID-19, as they helped keep record of the people in quarantine, distributed food, and assisted in doing house chores unable to be done by those confined. As much as the pandemic affected daily lives directly, it also affected the people indirectly. It roused the people’s quest for rights of free speech, particularly in the case of Dr. Li Wenliang’s death.

After the first wave ended, signs of normal activities that were seen in the first week of June didn’t last long. The following week, three new cases were discovered, two of them found in Fengtai Meat Food Research Center. On 13th June, another six cases from local transmission in Xinfadi Market—the biggest grocery market in Asia—located in Fengtai District were detected. Responding to the newfound cases, the government immediately took action. Three core steps were taken: sweeping, testing, and isolation. The testing became more massive in the second wave, in which, a week after the new cases emerged, 2.3 million people had been tested. The government also applied wartime mechanism in management standards. In the third week of June, public spaces were, again, closed. Correspondingly, several responsible government officials and authorities of the Xinfadi Market were fired. The second wave was quite distinct compared to the first, as the testing was more aggressive and massive, both on those who were directly and indirectly affected. Several other measures also made the second wave stood out from the first, with extended quarantine duration from 14 days to 21 days, stricter track recording of people, and local isolation, as well as different types of isolation depending on the level of risk: high, moderate, and low.

Arrizal delivered the second presentation titled “From Beijing to the Streets of Hong Kong: How Students Form the Democratization Movement in Contemporary China”. Despite the pandemic, the people of Hong Kong persisted to commemorate the Tiananmen 1989 Tragedy on 4th June. In China, the Tiananmen Protest had become resilience symbol of democratization movements. Though the discussion on democratization is still taboo in the Chinese government, democracy has long become a part of the Chinese national identity discourse. Before the Chinese Civil War was won by the Chinese Communist Party/ CCP in 1949, Chinese leaders then attempted to adopt democracy as one of the nation’s principles.

Protests—mainly the ones driven by university students—has been occurring in China for a long time, although not always meant to go against the authorities. In mainland China, two phases of protests occurred: protests supported by the political elite in Mao’s era (1949-1976) and 1989-now; and protests organized against the political elite in the era of Republic (1911-1949) until the early post-Mao years (1976-1989). Despite being different in characteristics, these protests should be viewed in unity as a continuous series of events.

Under Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese political system underwent a transition phase and no longer focused on ideological aspects. Such character promoted reform in the field of politics. Unlike in Mao’s presidency, the CCP in Deng’s era encouraged the public to express their opinion. This period is often referred to as the Beijing Spring—derived from the term Arab Spring—as it gave space for pro-democracy movements to rise. One of the most influential pro-democracy symbols were the Xidan Walls illustrating CCP’s “openness” to proceed with the rejuvenation agenda.

One of the most influential student protests in modern Chinese history were the May Fourth 1919. The movement was initiated to counter the outcome of Versailles Treaty which was viewed as an attempt to turn China over to Japan and western countries. The May Fourth became a pillar for the following student protests and eventually prompted the nationalist movement in China. In 1986, students from all over China organized a protest demanding a political reform. The protest secured an indirect support from Hu Yaobang, then CCP’s secretary general. Three years later, the Tiananmen Protest were organized to commemorate his passing. The occurrence was the accumulation and peak of small student protests since 1976.

According to Arrizal, there were—at least—six reasons why protests were often organized by university students. First, the protest culture, which was born in the era of nationalist movements, kept driving reform movements in universities established in said reformation era. Also, presence of moral support and exclusive identity of university students supported such protests. Third, centralized location allowed easier assembly; in 1930, 60% of Chinese students were only concentrated in two cities, Beijing and Shanghai. Fourth, university students, unlike other repressed groups in the civil society, had self-determining characteristics as a group. They were also privileged with exposure to ideas of democracy through formal education and western dissemination. Lastly, university students had weaker bonds with the state ever since the Imperial Civil Examination was abolished in 1905.

Wrapping up his explanation, Arrizal stated that student protests following the May Fourth 1919, Tiananmen 1989, and Hong Kong protests can’t be viewed as entirely separate movements. Said protests should be seen in unity of a long-established democratization movement. Different political, social, and economic condition in China today also influenced the existence of similar protests in the 21st century.

Writer: Denise Michelle
Translator: Medisita Febrina

[RECAP] Cangkir Teh : Water Governance for the Urban Poor and COVID-19 Crisis: The Case Study of Jakarta

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The government’s move towards new normal as a policy alternative in tackling COVID-19 is thought-provoking, in particular regarding the aptness of both the government and the people in anticipating the situation. As the new normal scheme demands every member of the society to pay extra attention to their health (with, amongst many other measures, frequent handwashing), it is necessary to observe how water—as a vital element in preventing COVID-19 transmission—is being governed. Notably in urban poor areas, water governance needs to be scrutinized to ensure equal access.

Intrigued by the issue, Institute of International Studies organized Berbincang dan Berpikir tentang Hubungan Internasional (Cangkir Teh) on Wednesday, 17 June 2020 online via Google Meet. Present in the fourth forum of Cangkir Teh was Marwa, M. Sc., a researcher in Center for World Trade Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada, as the speaker. Marwa brought about the topic of “Water Governance for the Urban Poor and COVID-19 Crisis: The Case Study of Jakarta”. In addition, Handono Ega—publication staff of IIS UGM—also attended as a moderator.

Marwa commenced the discussion by expressing the importance of discussing water governance issue. The matter is of great urgency as access to water in urban poor regions is still limited, particularly in Jakarta. Poor water governance poses the urban poor population as the group most vulnerable to lack of water, above all in times of pandemic. In defining water governance, Marwa put two approaches to use, namely the environmental justice approach and the feminist political ecology approach.

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The environmental justice approach highlights the significance of recognition and participation aspects in water governance. The approach criticizes how established water governance policies are only fixated on water distribution between the elite and the urban poor, neglecting elements of recognition and participation. Such negligence contributes to the exclusion of urban poor population in the water governance scheme. The issue of recognition becomes an important point as limited access to water usually comes from urban poor settlements being deemed illegal. Moreover, the aspect of participation also needs to be taken into account, as the urban poor population is normally unable to participate in municipal water governance scheme, let alone in lower levels of households and communities. As the two facets were given little attention to in public discourse, existing policies are also void of them. Said policies include: (1) the cross-subsidy tariff scheme which, despite charging lower price to the urban poor, is yet to consider recognition; (2) the flexible payment mechanism which prioritizes subsidy, but overlooks recognition and participation; (3) the master meter program which provides an alternative for people who don’t own land certificates, but controversially legitimizes the “occupation” of illegal land by urban poor population.

Meanwhile, the feminist political ecology approach puts emphasis on the methods of daily water utilization. In practice, water governance and utilization might be policy-driven, requiring large-scale public collaboration, or needs-driven, usually limited to the vicinity of communities. In her analysis, Marwa asserted that access to water highly depends on the identity of an individual, covering his/her place of origins, type of settlement (whether permanent or semi-permanent), number of people in the household, status of land owner and even the individual’s place in the community. Different identities lead to different ways of obtaining access to water and certain identities are favored more compared to others. In aforesaid condition, the urban poor tend to be the one at disadvantage, having their access to water restricted. The feminist political ecology approach finds fault in the tendency of existing policies to generalize, causing inability to reach out to the society as a whole, especially the urban poor.

Observance of the situation in Jakarta leads to the conclusion that the established water governance involving different stakeholders on different scales is unable to give decent access to water for the urban poor, primarily amidst the spread of COVID-19. Large-scale social distancing measures compelled the urban poor into compromising their need of water and sanitation essential to health. In a more general context, the neglect of recognition and participation results in difficulties for migrants in Jakarta in accessing water. Government’s effort, unfortunately, was limited to providing handwashing facilities, which is—definitely—inadequate to satisfy the population’s daily need of water. At the end of her presentation, Marwa suggested that, instead of continuously debating on remunicipalization and privatization, it is essential for the government to move towards better recognition and participation of the people in water governance process. Besides, while the urban poor has always been mere tool of propaganda in improving water governance, the pandemic should be the right momentum to voice the importance of just, flexible, and sustainable water governance for the whole population.

Writer : Brigitta Kalina Tristani Hernawan

Editor : Medisita Febrina

[RECAP] Beyond the Great Wall #8: China 2020: Traditional and Nontraditional Security Challenges

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Amidst the pandemic that demands self-quarantine and working from home, Institute of International Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada managed to assemble the forum of Beyond the Great Wall #8 online through Google Meet on May 15, 2020. In its eighth edition, Beyond the Great Wall invited two speakers to discuss both traditional and nontraditional security challenges China is facing in 2020. Our first speaker Fadhil Sulaeman, who is currently serving as the Head of Research and Development for Student Association of Belt and Road Initiative (SABRI) UGM Chapter, delivered a presentation on the topic of “China’s Strategy in South China Sea”. Meanwhile, our second speaker Muhammad Reza, currently serving as a media analyst in PT Indonesia Indikator, addressed the topic of “China’s Medical Insurance System”. Also present in last Friday’s forum were Nur Rachmat Yuliantoro, currently acting as the Head of International Relations Department of UGM as well as the convener of Beyond the Great Wall, and Lucke Haryo S. P., IIS UGM library staff, as moderator.

The forum starts with Fadhil explaining the importance of the South China Sea conflict. Three reasons exhibit this conflict’s significance: (1) the entrance of foreign vessels into Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone; (2) claims from Indonesia’s ASEAN neighbors on the conflict; (3) the involvement of the United States and China as important actors in international politics. South China Sea is a highly strategic territory due to abundance in natural resources, as well as its role as the main route for international trade. Furthermore, the disputed waters are infamous for various transnational crimes, ranging from trade of illegal goods to human and drug trafficking. Considering said strategic values of South China Sea, seven countries have put up overlapping claims on the territory. Fadhil pointed out three main islands on dispute, namely the Spratly Islands, the Paracel Islands, and the Scarborough Shoal. All three were of great significance to China’s interest, both in the ASEAN region and in international politics.

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While describing the China-United States dynamics in the South China Sea conflict, Fadhil stated that confrontation between the two occurred as a result of different legal basis adopted to justify respective claims. The United States referred to Freedom of Navigation Operations as a result of international arbitration process, declaring South China Sea as international waters, resulting in freedom of movement and absence of obligation to report upon passage. On the other hand, China rejected the verdict and insisted on adhering to the principle of Innocent Passage. The principle implicates the obligation for vessels to report upon passage, as well as limited movement. Overlapping claims, combined with different stances on UNCLOS, made confrontation inevitable. However, China-United States confrontation has always been mere intimidation hitherto, i.e. Chinese and American vessels sailing in immediate vicinity of each other a while ago, and never resulted in an armed confrontation. Fadhil wrapped up his presentation with response to the question of whether the United States is bold enough to initiate physical confrontation with China.

“The United States is the only country capable of outdoing China’s naval force. However, escalating the conflict will present the United States as an aggressor. Hence, provocation and intimidation should be taken as solutions” Fadhil answered.

The second session focused on nontraditional security challenges China is facing in 2020, particularly in public health matters. Muhammad Reza began his presentation with an interesting fact: the Chinese government has only reformed its medical insurance system in 2015, relatively recent compared to Indonesia who launched its new insurance system in the first term of President Joko Widodo’s presidency. In order to improve its health services, China allocated 850 million yuan to support three types of insurance scheme: (1) the urban employment-based basic medical insurance, aimed for the working class living in cities; (2) urban resident medical insurance for children and students; (3) new rural cooperative medical scheme for rural residents. All types of subsidy apply for the entire Chinese population, except those in Macau and Hong Kong.

Reza made clear that although reformed, the Chinese medical insurance system is still flawed. The reimbursement rate for inpatient care facilities is still low and continues to decrease. Consequently, the government persistently attempts to refine its system, notably during the emergence of COVID-19 in China and its spread worldwide. Many parties view that the government’s approach in handling the spread of the virus is effective, covering lockdowns, strict supervision, as well as deployment of government intelligence agents and face recognition technology to track citizens. At the moment, the government is pursuing the development of artificial intelligence to prevent similar outbreaks in the future. Reza asserted that the significant budget will eventually be able to advance the system.

The forum is concluded with statements from Nur Rachmat Yuliantoro. Indonesia and the international community, according to Nur Rachmat, should not slack in keeping up with the issue of South China Sea despite the pandemic. Indonesia and ASEAN should not give in to China. In fact, Indonesia is under great obligation to ensure regional stability, particularly if China’s strategy threatens Indonesia’s straits. Meanwhile, in discussing China’s medical insurance system, Nur Rachmat affirmed that it is normal for China to have reformed its system only recently, followed by the ambition to develop artificial intelligence with an even larger budget than the United States’. Nur Rachmat argued that the employment of artificial intelligence by the Chinese government in the future will be massive, not only to tackle COVID-19, but also track its citizens.

Writer : Brigitta Kalina Tristani Hernawan

Editor : Medisita Febrina

[RECAP] Round Table Discussion: Global Development of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) and Its Implications on Indonesia’s Foreign Policy and Defense

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On Friday (6/3), Institute of International Studies, International Relations Department of Universitas Gadjah Mada collaborated with International Relations Department of Universitas Paramadina in organizing Round Table Discussion on Global Development of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) and its implications on Indonesia’s foreign policy and defense. The event was attended by various stakeholders, ranging from government, scholars, the military, researchers, and experts who proceeded to discuss the matter in hand from different perspectives.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the working definition of autonomous weapons (also known as autonomous weapon systems/lethal autonomous weapon systems/killer robots) is a weapon system that possesses autonomy in executing its critical functions of selecting and attacking target without human intervention. Their development is a consequence of the industrial revolution. The lethality of this type of weapon is not inherent in itself. Instead, it depends on the characteristics of the weapons and how they are deployed.

Autonomous weapons are strongly related to international humanitarian law. Notwithstanding their close ties with war practices, there exists a discourse of the use of autonomous weapons in peace, particularly for law enforcement purposes. Many believe the weapon systems are capable of precise targeting, yet the debate on the risk of cyber attack during deployment persists, which constitutes the problem of accountability and alleged violation of international humanitarian law. The debate focuses upon who is responsible: the field operator, the commander, or the creator of its algorithm?

Beside legal considerations, ethics also need to be taken into account. In the forum, questions such as “will autonomous weapons be able to comply with international humanitarian law principles?”, “to what extent should humans have control on weapons?”, “as autonomous weapons are allowed to select and decide upon targets on their own, should it be considered crossing the line?” arose.

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Thus far, Indonesian government has not taken a firm stance on the issue. Indonesia still serves as an observer and not a state party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). While Indonesia is not against the accession of the Convention, the government might have other priorities. That said, Indonesia has not come to the realization of the urgency and potential threat of the weapon to humanity, keeping in mind the existence of autonomous weapons will, slowly but surely, develop enormous destructive effect.

It is imperative that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with support from all national agencies, act as the frontline in convincing the government to access CCW. Moreover, CCW need to be translated into Bahasa in order to transform it into national law. In the future, Indonesia is also expected to increase participation in the forum. Otherwise, the discussion will only stay in academic domain.

As business of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is also in trend, Indonesia doesn’t want to be left out. Presiden Joko Widodo wished for UAVs to be developed. However, UAVs were not intended to be weapons originally, but to execute the mission of 3D: dull, dirty, dangerous. In other words, such aircrafts weren’t built to be armed. It changed, later, after the national army Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) decided that drones should execute military missions. As much as UAV is beneficial, it can disrupt traffic airline, more so when armed. Unlike autonomous weapons, UAV is already regulated under several ministerial regulations.

The existence of autonomous weapons is highly dilemmatic. Their use is beneficial as they will not be able to experience fear, as well as select and attack targets on their own. Furthermore, they are less costly to deploy. On the other hand, autonomous weapons raise questions on the aspects of chivalry, humanity, and morality in war. In this situation, international humanitarian law plays a central role. Instead of limiting a country’s military advancement, international humanitarian law ensures that steps taken by states are in line with humanitarian principles. Its existence highlights how lack of regulation on autonomous weapons brings about concerns of accountability when violation occurs.

Right now, the utmost priority should be placed on defining typology of LAWS, as there is no existing consensus on the term autonomous weapon systems (AWS). Scholars ought to conduct research regarding autonomous weapons since it is a collective responsibility to create discourse on the urgency of the matter. It is important to note that the situation of AWS now is more complex compared to nuclear weapons. Total ban on autonomous weapons is difficult since the weapons are beneficial for military strategy, namely in efficiency and effectivity when destroying opponents in a shorter period. In addition, AWS also possess defensive aspects, making it even more difficult to entirely abolish them. In brief, the problem of AWS lies not on the core of their existence, but rather on how they are deployed.

Writer: Denise Michelle
Translator: Medisita Febrina

Globalization Talk #3 : Globalization Talk and Educating on Globalization

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On Monday (24/02), Institute of International Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada (IIS UGM) conducted the third session of the acclaimed Globalization Talk discussion with the theme “Global Citizenship and Educating on Globalization”. On this occasion, IIS UGM have the opportunity to invite Prof. Dr. Ayami Nakaya, Associate Professor at Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation (IDEC), Hiroshima University, accompanied by Dr. Riza Noer Arfani, Director of IIS UGM to deliver the materials regarding the matter of globalization, global citizenship and education in encountering the phenomenon of globalization. Besides the speakers, IIS UGM also invited Cut Intan Aulianisa Isma, Manager of IIS UGM who is the moderator of the event, as well as several High school teacher representatives athwart Yogyakarta as the guest participant of the event.

Nakaya opened the session by deliberating the quintessential temporal phenomenon of globalization. Globalization unequivocally asserts global implications to various stakeholders, let it be positive nor negative impacts it induces. Ad exemplum, one of the positive impacts imposed by Globalization would be its instantaneous information diffusion, ergo the public have faster access to information. Inasmuch, an expeditious transfer of information prompted the trend of false information dispersal (hoax) nor information that has not been approved of its validity, hence instigating panic and unrest to the public. The introduction was closed with a compelling rhetorical question by Nakaya; “who is capable of averting the negative implications and optimizes the positive aspects of Globalization?”.

The discussion session was recommended by Nakaya by ruminating the exegesis of “Global Citizenship”. Global Citizenship is a solution which asserts public mobility in encountering the impacts of globalization, may it be positive nor negative effects. Nakaya elaborates, that global citizenship can be marked through several features, which is (1) capable of accepting diversity and respect to human rights, (2) exhibiting a collaborative mindset in the sense of exercising dispute settlement mechanisms through cooperative and collective means in the absence of conflict, and (3) situating a positive and active key role in sustaining order among the global community. In order for an individual to possess such features, the paramount importance of honing ones attitude, deep knowledge, cognitive skills, non-cognitive skills and behavioral capabilities should be exercised.

 

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In order to obtain such key elemental features, globalization education comes to place in fostering such skills. Globalization education acts to foster a just political literacy, sense of violence, and an orientation to social justice. By nature political literacy is mandatory in order to decipher globalization and its implications, hence we can respond properly to the dispersal of globalization. Sense of violence is the awareness to any form of violence, starting from direct violence to ecological violence. The social justice aspect is marked by the apprehension to the concept of justice that is not rigid and sundry in nature, consequently it erects an intellection to assure justice and equality to all parties. The aforementioned aspects can be elaborated through the process of globalization education which should be implemented in Indonesia.

In order to escalate the quality of Global Citizenship, Nakaya offers the concept of Resident Oriented Tourism as a means of development. Resident Oriented Tourism by itself is a form of reciprocal tourism interaction, which does not only bring profit to the tourists that are visiting but also to its local communities, as well it leverages the quality development of human resources in the tourist attraction. In order to realize such practices, the elements of local communities should actively participate in implementing the practices of tourism, and alter the value and image of exclusivity with values that are amiable to global diversity. Nakaya stipulates Yogyakarta as a suitable location in implementing resident oriented tourism and globalization education, due to its status as the epicenter of culture and education in Indonesia. The Special Region of Yogyakarta can act as the hub of global citizenship education through the methods of resident oriented tourism by upholding the value of conviviality, sense of pride to local culture, creativity and active participation in fabricating a tourist destination that is capable of accepting the global community.

The revelation evinced by Nakaya is closed by Riza, who expresses his support towards the importance of Yogyakarta as the epicenter of education and economy in Indonesia. Yogyakarta poses a lucrative potential as a prospective tourist region, and offers the potential in the exchange of ideas, experience and information. The education sector can act as an anchor for the pivot of tourism development. As the director of IIS, Riza also stipulates the affirmed and willingness of IIS in support of educating the community of Yogyakarta pertaining to globalization, which is in line to the stream of research conducted by IIS in the manifestation of advocating. Such alacrity is reflected by the conduct of the previous two antecedent Globalization Talk, viz – Globalization Talk #1 (Jogja Creative Industry Forum) and #2 (Jogja Tourism and Governance Forum) by IIS UGM.

Author : Raditya Bomantara

Editor : Handono Ega P.