India and Indonesia can lead a southern consensus

This article is authored by M Waffaa Kharisma.

The world has yet to recover from the convulsions of recent years — from the erosion of multilateralism, the polarisation of the global supply chain, and the disregard of international law. The rules-based order that countries like Indonesia and India once relied upon for stability and open trade is fraying. In its place emerges a more transactional and uncertain landscape, where power often trumps common principle, and where rising and middle powers must constantly hedge to protect their interests.

Indonesian flag(Asia Society)

For Indonesia and India, two democracies situated at the heart of the Indo-Pacific, this uncertainty brings both risk and opportunity. Risk, because both remain deeply exposed to global disruptions, from food and energy security to the evolving technology race. Opportunity, because both now recognize that autonomy in today’s world cannot be achieved in isolation. It depends on how well they can cooperate, diversify, and lead together.

At the centre of both nations’ foreign policy lies the conviction that regional stability must be built on inclusion rather than exclusion. Indonesia’s concept of an Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India’s Act East and Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) share the same DNA: Open, inclusive, and development-oriented regionalism.

Neither country traditionally sees the Indo-Pacific as an arena of military containment. Instead, both seek to ensure that the region’s economic corridors remain open, its political institutions representative, and its development projects transparent. Both espouse visions that are neither anti-Western nor anti-China in posture, but rather a pro-development one, grounded in the belief that autonomy and cooperation are not contradictory, but mutually reinforcing.

This logic resonates with their historical legacies. From the Bandung Conference in 1955 to their active roles in the G20 and Brics today, India and Indonesia have long championed a vision of global order rooted in sovereignty, democracy, and solidarity among developing nations. In smaller, purpose-driven partnerships as well as regional leadership, India and Indonesia have complementary roles. India is active across a wide array of Indo-Pacific forums, from Bimstec to Quad, while Indonesia continues to anchor the Asean-centred regional architecture and experiment with different groupings to explore where its modalities can be extended.

In joint groupings such as G20 or Brics, the task ahead is to work together in championing the agenda that reorients these groups toward inclusivity and practical development cooperation, rather than ideological posturing. Their participation in multiple global and regional frameworks ensures that the voices of developing countries remain part of global governance debates.

Both countries can use these platforms to craft what might be called a southern consensus, a framework for cooperation that prioritizes resilience and equality over competition and coercion. This means approaching diverse national interests through the lens of public goods provision, by collaborating on technology transfer, joint research, shared standards, and expanded production capacity. Such cooperation can reduce supply chain vulnerabilities among developing countries and strengthen their collective resilience against future disruptions.

For Indonesia, this means reinvesting in Asean’s centrality by linking its food, energy, manufacturing, technology, and climate resilience agendas into tangible regional mechanisms. For India, it means ensuring that its expanding global and regional footprint remains anchored in partnerships that empower others, including, over time, by engaging more closely with inclusive regional economic arrangements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as its readiness and priorities evolve.

That spirit was reaffirmed at the 2nd India–Indonesia Track 1.5 Dialogue, held in Jakarta in September 2025 and jointly organised by CSIS Indonesia and Gateway House India. The initiative builds upon the commitment in the Prabowo–Modi Joint Statement earlier this year to elevate cooperation “from transactional to transformational.”

Over the past two years, the Dialogue has become a unique platform to align the two countries’ strategic and economic agendas. It brings together government representatives, industry leaders, and think tanks to examine practical ways of deepening cooperation.

The discussions in Jakarta revealed a convergence of priorities: Defence and maritime cooperation, energy transition and critical minerals, food and fertiliser resilience, digital infrastructure, health security, and education linkages. Participants also emphasised the need for more consistent institutional dialogue, not only about trade, but about how both countries build their development models and innovation ecosystems.

This reflects a maturing partnership built on consistent engagement — from coordinated naval patrols and participation in various regional groupings to expanding business linkages in key sectors such as pharmaceuticals. As one participant noted, “India and Indonesia already trade with each other – now they must start growing together.”

The dialogue also revealed a deeper truth: When two large democracies striving for greater autonomy – sometimes driven by a self-reliance instinct – meet, partnership can be complicated. Both aspire to regional leadership, prize strategic autonomy, and pursue ambitious modernisation agendas. Yet these very similarities are what make their partnership essential for the future.

To move beyond commercialism, the relationship must rest on three principles.
First, cooperation should deliver public goods – energy security, health, education, and innovation that benefit not only governments but also societies. Second, good governance and transparency are forms of protection, not burdens; open and accountable institutions make development more sustainable. India and Indonesia must continue working together to strengthen governance standards. Third, long-term credibility matters more than short-term growth metrics; policies should reward consistency and trust over opportunism.

Such ideas may sound abstract, but they carry profound strategic implications. As emerging powers rise, the strength of their moral imagination will matter as much as their material capabilities. India and Indonesia can demonstrate that leadership in the Global South is not about dominance, but about fairness, restraint, and shared responsibility. Their cooperation can show that development and technology are not instruments of exclusion, but enablers of collective progress.

Ultimately, the India–Indonesia partnership will only succeed if it stays true to its shared democratic ethos, one that balances pragmatism with principle. The friendship between the two draws from a civilisational understanding that development must preserve human dignity, and that leadership must serve peace, not power.

In a time when power politics too often eclipses purpose, this moral compass is an asset. Both countries have shown that national interest and global responsibility can go hand in hand. The challenge ahead is to prove that inclusive cooperation, not zero-sum rivalry, remains the surest path to prosperity.

If they can sustain the momentum, their cooperation could become a model for South-South partnerships: pro-development, transparent, and oriented toward public goods. In a time when the world seems more divided than ever, such a model is not just desirable but necessary.

This article is authored by M Waffaa Kharisma, researcher, Department of International Relations, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Indonesia.