On Monday, Brazil’s government announced that Indonesia has been admitted as a full member of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, after expressing its interest in membership late last year.

Brazil, which holds the bloc’s presidency this year, said in a statement that member states had approved Indonesia’s entry by consensus, making it the first nation from Southeast Asia to join the economic grouping.

“The Brazilian government welcomes Indonesia’s entry into the BRICS,” the government said in its statement. “With the largest population and economy in Southeast Asia, Indonesia shares with other members a commitment to reforming global governance institutions and contributes positively to deepening South-South cooperation.”

Indonesia’s foreign ministry said in a statement yesterday that it welcomed the Brazilian government’s announcement and described BRICS membership as “a strategic way to increase collaboration and partnership with other developing nations.”

The BRICS grouping, named after its core members – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – has undergone a round of expansion that was endorsed at the 2023 BRICS summit in Johannesburg. Last year, it absorbed Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while bringing 13 other nations on board as “partner countries.”

Indonesia’s bid for membership was approved in 2023, but President Joko Widodo chose not to pursue membership, saying that he wanted to weigh up the pros and cons of such a move. As a result, Indonesia was not among the new members announced at the Johannesburg summit.

In October, during BRICS’ annual summit in Kazan, Russia, Indonesia’s new Foreign Minister Sugiono said that Jokowi’s successor, Prabowo Subianto, who was sworn into office just days earlier, had decided that Indonesia would seek full membership in the grouping.

In making the announcement, Sugiono said that seeking BRICS membership “embodies the country’s active and free foreign policy” and aligned with the main priorities of the Prabowo administration, including on “food and energy security, poverty eradication, as well as human capital development.”

“It does not mean that we are joining a certain camp,” Sugiono added, “but we actively participate in all forums.”

As well as showing the flexible nature of Indonesia’s “free and active” foreign policy tradition, which was also adduced as a reason for Jokowi’s decision not to join the bloc, the Indonesian government’s shift in the Indonesian government’s position on BRICS likely reflects the difference in approach between Jokowi and Prabowo.

In an article for the Lowy Institute’s Interpreter blog in November, Klaus Heinrich Raditio, a lecturer of the Driyarkara School of Philosophy’s Graduate Program in Jakarta, argued that Prabowo was less wary of the grouping and aimed “to be a more active participant in international forums while remaining independent.” He added, “But the main aim is primarily in seeking development opportunities, rather than endorsing Russia’s or China’s views on the world order.”

Indonesia’s elevation reflects a growing Southeast Asian interest in the BRICS grouping, which has positioned itself as an alternative to global institutions dominated by the U.S. and other Western nations. Last year, both Malaysia and Thailand announced that they had formally applied for BRICS membership. In October, these two nations, as well as Indonesia and Vietnam, were among the 13 nations that became partner countries of BRICS, which also included Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Turkey, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.

While many Western observers are skeptical about the viability and cohesion of BRICS as an international grouping, let alone a viable challenge to the democracies of the West, it is clear that leading Southeast Asian nations increasingly see membership in the bloc as a means of broadening their economic and diplomatic options at a time of growing international tension. Wary of growing tensions between China, Russia, and the West, Indonesia and its neighbors are determined to maintain good relations with both sides.