Indonesia In The Geopolitics And Global Digital Economy Of Submarine Cables

Abstract

Indonesia’s geographic position linking two oceans has once again placed it at the center of great-power competition. But this time through the submarine fiber-optic cables that carry more than 97% of international internet traffic. Yet the geopolitical dimension of this infrastructure remains understudied, and Indonesia is almost absent from the existing literature. This article argues that a strategic geographic position does not by itself generate bargaining power; without adequate regulatory and oversight capacity, that position may instead become a source of vulnerability. Using a qualitative approach based on document analysis and a literature study and drawing on the framework of weaponized interdependence complemented by the concept of digital sovereignty, the article examines how submarine cables have become an arena of geopolitical competition, Indonesia’s position within that network, the gaps in its national regulatory framework, and the implications of this infrastructure for the global digital economy. The analysis shows that competition unfolds across three domains — ownership, supply chain, and landing routes — yet state influence remains partial and fragmented. Indonesia acts as an active owner at the periphery of the network and a passenger at its core, with cable landing points as the only chokepoint under its full jurisdiction. The control it holds is administrative and spatial-planning oriented, not yet reaching physical security, geopolitical screening, or data sovereignty. This asymmetry between formal involvement and substantive control capacity is what places Indonesia’s strategic position closer to vulnerability than to strength.