The Jakarta–Peking axis, also known as the Djakarta–Peking–Pyongyang–Hanoi–Phnom Penh Axis was a form of geopolitical alignment during the Cold War era, representing a strategic convergence between

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. This political alignment was inaugurated in January 1965 as part of President Sukarno's foreign policy during Indonesia's

Guided Democracy Guided democracy, also called directed democracy and managed democracy, is a formally democratic government that functions as a ''de facto'' authoritarian government or, in some cases, as an autocratic government. Such hybrid regimes are legit ...

era. Although Indonesia maintained a nominally free and active foreign policy, Sukarno's administration exhibited strong anti-Western sentiments and gravitated towards

communist countries A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

Political alignment

A notable manifestation of this policy was Indonesia's confrontation with Malaysia. President Sukarno perceived the formation of the Malaysian federation as an act of

Western imperialism in Asia The influence and imperialism of the West peaked in Asian territories from the colonial period beginning in the 16th century, and substantially reduced with 20th century decolonization. It originated in the 15th-century search for trade routes t ...

. Consequently, when Malaysia was appointed a non-permanent member of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

(UNSC), Indonesia withdrew from the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in protest. The conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia had elicited reactions from the

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, which supported Malaysia. After Singapore's separation from Malaysia on August 9, 1965, Sukarno further reinforced his strong belief in confrontation. To strengthen Indonesia's position along with other anti-imperialist countries, in a speech on the occasion of August 17, 1965, he announced the establishment of the Jakarta–Peking axis. This axis was intended to break the 'Old Established Forces' (OLDEFOS) and rally the 'New Emerging Forces' (NEFOS). OLDEFOS, representing imperialist and colonialist powers primarily in the capitalistic

Western bloc The Western Bloc, also known as the Capitalist Bloc, the Freedom Bloc, the Free Bloc, and the American Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War (1947–1991). While ...

, and NEFOS, comprising anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist nations, notably in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. For Indonesia at the time, the politics of non-alignment does not inherently mean the politics of neutralism. In essence of the belief of Sukarno, non-alignment is the embodiment of active itself, so that Indonesian diplomacy at that time was directed at placing Indonesia not as a passive participant, but as an influential player in international politics. This further increased Indonesia's diplomatic isolation from other Asian- African countries. Therefore, through Soebandrio, Indonesia tried to solidify the Jakarta-Peking (Beijing) relationship. At that time, Premier

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...

offered to arm a people's militia called the

Fifth Force In physics, a fifth force refers to a hypothetical fundamental interaction (also known as fundamental force) beyond the four known interactions in nature: gravitational, electromagnetic, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear forces. Some speculativ ...

. In this regard, the

Indonesian Communist Party The Communist Party of Indonesia ( Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in the Dutch East Indies and later Indonesia. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in ...

(PKI) led by D.N. Aidit urged the formation of the Fifth Force, whose members were recruited from urban workers and laborers, agricultural laborers, and armed rural poor peasants. Sukarno's Jakarta-Peking axis, supported by the PKI, also marked a shift from Moscow’s non-capitalist and

peaceful coexistence Peaceful coexistence () was a theory, developed and applied by the Soviet Union at various points during the Cold War in the context of primarily Marxist–Leninist foreign policy and adopted by Soviet-dependent socialist states, according to wh ...

policy approach to Beijing’s anti-imperialism and self-reliance ideas.

End

After the birth of the New Order in 1966, Indonesia's foreign policy radically changed. As a result of the attempted coup by the September 30th Movement (G30S) in 1965, relations between Indonesia and China were strained. In fact, the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing was closed for an indefinite period. Meanwhile, confrontation with Malaysia and Singapore was no longer considered appropriate. At that time, the originally confrontational political direction changed, and the Jakarta–Peking axis ended.

Reference

{{Reflist 1965 in Indonesia Guided Democracy in Indonesia Political history of Indonesia Geopolitical terminology Mao Zedong China–Indonesia relations 1965 in international relations History of the foreign relations of China Anti-Western sentiment

Political alignment

End

See also

Reference