In the World Podcast Angelo Wijaya

This is a year-end special episode. In this episode we are joined by Sascha Simon, and these are the four events shaping our world in 2020.

Japan has just got its new Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga. This happens after the previous Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, resigned from his post due to health reasons. Suga was pretty much an insider of Abe's administration. Suga held a ministerial position from 2006 to 2007, and was appointed Chief of Cabinet Secretary in 2012. He departed his post to assume his new role in September 2020. Shortly after being sworn in, he made some diplomatic manoeuvres by meeting officials from the US, China, Vietnam, and very recently Indonesia. With this succession of power, we would like to know, what could be Japan's foreign policy under Prime Minister Suga?

In this episode, we talked to Noto Suoneto from the Foreign Policy Talks Podcast and a current Master's Candidate in International Political Economy at the University of Birmingham about the outlook of Japan's foreign policy, and specifically its relations with Indonesia. Besides his interest in IPE, Noto Suoneto has an interest in the East Asian Affairs.

Very recently, Noto Suoneto wrote a number of articles for The Jakarta Post and The Diplomat. The links to the publications can be found below:

"After Abe, Opportunities Loom for Japan-Indonesia Relations" The Diplomat: https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/after-abe-opportunities-loom-for-japan-indonesia-relations/

"The outlook of Indonesia-Japan relations under PM Suga" The Jakarta Post: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2020/09/21/the-outlook-of-indonesia-japan-relations-under-pm-suga.html

"The Challenges Facing US-Indonesia Relations Post-Trump" The Diplomat: https://thediplomat.com/2020/11/the-challenges-facing-us-indonesia-relations-post-trump/

Japan, world's once second biggest economy, is among the first countries to articulate its Indo-Pacific vision. Then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered his famous "Confluence of the Two Seas" before the Indian Parliament back in 2007. In his more recent term as Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe once again reiterated Japan's interest to pursue a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). But what does Japan's FOIP entail? In this episode of In The World Podcast's Indo-Pacific Insider series, we will explore the vision, position, and role of Japan in the Indo-Pacific region.

India has been instrumental in the inception and the subsequent revival of the "Indo-Pacific" ideas. Its close relationship with the US gave birth to the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor. In its relations with Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered his "Confluence of the Two Oceans" at the Indian Parliament. With an economy that is continuously growing, youthful population, and other political-economic potential, what does the future hold for India's position in the Indo-Pacific region? A speech by Prime Minister Modi in 2018 at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue might help us to better understand where the country is heading.

In the second half of 2020, Germany assumes the presidency in the Council of the European Union (not to be confused with the European Council and Council of Europe). This year, Germany also published its first document that comprehensively outlines its Indo-Pacific "strategy". In this episode, we discussed Germany's foreign policy, its position in the EU, NATO, and the UN, as well as its engagement in the broader Indo-Pacific region.



Sascha Simon is a Master's Candidate at the University of Konstanz, Germany and Gothenburg University, Sweden. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Malmö University, Sweden and spent a semester each at Ritsumeikan University, Japan, and Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. He is cross-registered at post-graduate level at University of Zürich, Switzerland.

Germany launched its Indo-Pacific strategy on September 2020. The country released the document in the middle of its European Union presidency which runs from July to December 2020. What does this mean to Germany’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific region and the wider world? How does Germany see China? How does Germany see ASEAN in an Indo-Pacific context? In this episode, we are trying to take a look on Germany’s Indo-Pacific strategy.