indahnesia.com - Country relations - Relations with the Indonesians - Relations with the Indonesians

Since a long time, people and populations living in the Indonesian archipelago, have been in contact with foreign cultures and populations. Some of them settled in the Indonesian archipelago and brought their own culture and habits. These pages mainly show the modern day relations with the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indian people on a historic background.

Chinese relations
If there is anything we can say about the Sino-Indonesian relationship, it is probably the fact that politics have always come second to sociocultural and economic ties. Indeed, from an anthropological point of view, Indonesians could well trace their ancestral origins to the people who once populated the southern part of China, and -- like the Japanese and Koreans -- have strong influences of Chinese culture that for centuries has been the region's de-facto hegemon.

Japanese relations
When did Japanese people first come to Indonesia? For most ordinary Indonesians, the answer to that question may well be a cliche. Some may be quick to point to the landing of Japanese troops in the country in 1942, bringing to an end the long rule of the Dutch. At least, that is what most history textbooks here say.

Korean relations
Many people here are not as familiar with Korean culture as they are with the values and lifestyles of other Asian communities in the country. Chinese merchants arrived here very early. Their descendants were born and grew up here, adopted local names and citizenship and indeed, have become a part of Indonesia and claimed strong economic power.

Indian relations
Many Indonesians would recognize the name Texmaco but not Ispat Indo. Both are Indian companies, each with different fates, and between them they represent the wide range of Indian businesses in Indonesia. Texmaco is a business group that still has massive debts following the monetary crisis. One of its subsidiaries, Polysindo Eka Perkasa, has recently been declared bankrupt by the commercial court.

U.S. relations
In 1882, a United States (U.S.) mission in Medan, North Sumatra, gave a tip-off to the Dutch East Indies authorities about a rebellion in what is now known as Nangroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD). As a result of the tip-off, the Dutch troops managed to crush the rebellion and accomplish the full occupation of what is now known as Indonesia.

Australian relations
Relations between the peoples of Australia and Indonesia stretch back hundreds of years to the time when fishermen from Makassar in South Sulawesi traveled to northern Australia in search of sea cucumbers. But records suggest that it was not until World War II that an Australian community was first established in Indonesia. It was the arrival of the Australian troops as part of the allied forces during the war, that marked the beginning of the temporary settlement of Australians.

Great Britan relations
Either in jest or seriousness, many Indonesians have wondered out loud whether it would have been better if we had been colonized by the English, rather than the Dutch, Japanese or Portuguese. If that was the case, "Our English would be as good as Malaysians or Singaporeans," sighed Iksan, a marine researcher at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.

German relations
Some people say size doesn't really matter. It seems that axiom applies for the German community here, too. The number of Germans living in the country remain small although their presence here dates back to early in the 16th century along with the massive influx of the first colonizing Europeans, including the Dutch and Portuguese, who landed on the country's shores to exploit the spice market soon after the discovery of sea routes to India.

Dutch relations
Although the Dutch had been in Indonesia from 1602, most Dutch communities during the colonial period only lasted until 1942, when the Japanese invaded. In the 17th and 18th centuries Indonesia, or the Dutch East Indies as it was then known, was not controlled directly by the Dutch government but by a joint-stock trading company, the Dutch East India Company (VOC).