Can Indonesia use Myanmar to balance the US and China?

Protesters sit on a makeshift barricade erected to deter security forces during demonstrations against the military coup in Yangon on March 14, 2021. - AFP

INDONESIA’S efforts to make the peace in post-coup Myanmar aren’t just about showing Southeast Asian solidarity, they are a way of showcasing Jakarta’s democratic credentials to the new administration in the United States, experts say.

The coup by the Myanmar military against the democratically elected National League for Democracy party led by Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1 is just the latest in a string of issues to have threatened unity in the 10 member Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) bloc.