When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Jakarta last month, the resulting joint statement between India and Indonesia encompassed a wide range of strategic priorities, including the Indo-Pacific, BRICS, ASEAN, maritime security, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, and resilient supply chains. Notably, the document omitted any reference to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). This absence is striking given that both nations were founding members of the movement, with their cooperation during the 1955 Bandung Conference providing the primary intellectual foundation for the organization.
Historically, the Bandung Conference established principles of anti-colonialism, sovereignty, peaceful coexistence, and independent foreign policy. These ideas were formalized in 1961 through the NAM, which served as a crucial diplomatic vehicle for developing nations to resist Cold War pressures to align with either Washington or Moscow. However, the current global landscape has shifted significantly. Modern Asian middle powers now face a complex environment defined by economic interdependence, technological rivalry, and great power competition rather than simple military bloc divisions.
In this new era, strategic autonomy is no longer about maintaining distance from the international system, but rather participating in it on one's own terms. The partnership between India and Indonesia reflects this evolution, as both countries now prioritize a dense network of contemporary frameworks such as the G20, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, and various Indo-Pacific initiatives. Their collaboration is increasingly issue-based, focusing on defense industrial cooperation, digital connectivity, and maritime domain awareness, rather than being confined to a single institution.
While the NAM served as a primary platform for expressing independence during the Cold War, India and Indonesia now pursue their objectives across multiple, overlapping partnerships simultaneously. ASEAN remains central to regional diplomacy, while BRICS facilitates broader cooperation among emerging economies. By diversifying these relationships, both nations maintain their room for independent decision-making without seeking exclusive alignment with any single major power.
The core values of the Bandung era—including sovereignty, territorial integrity, and a stronger voice for the Global South—remain deeply embedded in the foreign policies of both countries. However, the diplomatic language used to express these values has shifted toward concepts like ASEAN centrality and a rules-based Indo-Pacific. The waning prominence of the NAM in official statements does not signal the demise of these principles, but rather a transition in how they are articulated. For India and Indonesia, the legacy of Bandung continues through the pragmatic pursuit of strategic autonomy within a vastly different international order.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto visit the Prambanan Temple Compound Restoration and Conservation Project in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Jul. 8, 2026.
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