VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Chinese Institute of International Relations' Executive Vice President, Ruan Zongze, said that Indonesia could be a victim of the trade war that took place between China and the United States (US).

This happened because the trade dispute disrupted the global supply chain, where China and the US play a vital role. In the normal chain, Indonesia and the ASEAN countries export to China, and China re-exports to the US.

"Indonesia will also suffer from the disruption because the possibility of a market share will be narrower," Zongze said at a news conference in Jakarta on Monday.

According to Zongze, the opinion that Indonesia or the Southeast Asian countries will benefit from the dispute is a short-term observation.

"I do not really agree with the observation that the ASEAN or Indonesia will benefit, because in fact, there could be potential damage to Indonesia," he said.

Not only does Indonesia have the potential to become a victim in this dispute, but it may also be a target in the US-China trade war.

Zongze underlined the trade dispute as a globalized issue and likened China and the ASEAN countries to being in the same boat, where "no one can survive this bad weather".

Zongze stressed that Indonesia and the ASEAN countries needed cooperation, especially to face the possibility of a narrowing market share.

"We must find out what the real priority of this trade dispute is. The number one priority is multilateralism," he said.

Multilateralism, according to Zongze, is the key to Indonesia's future development, as well as for the ASEAN integration.  (ant)