CWP alums Ja Ian Chong & Injoo Sohn on the China In the World Podcast "Calibrating China Ties - Indonesia"

Indonesia has been trying to find its footing as a major international player over the past decade. These efforts include trying to deepen investment and trade relationships with the People’s Republic of China while skirting around differences over territorial claims and addressing Beijing’s rising prominence across Southeast Asia. Of concern as well is the pressure Chinese exports are placing on small and medium-sized enterprises in Indonesia, along with the safety of the hundreds of thousands of Indonesian citizens working in Taiwan should Beijing escalate the use of force across the Taiwan Strait. Host Ian Chong examines these issues with guests Natalie Sambhi and Yohanes Sulaiman.

Natalie Sambhi is Founder and Executive Director of Verve Research, Señor Policy Fellow at the Asia Society Australia, and Non-Resident Fellow with the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy Program. She is also a lecturer with the Australian War College. Yohanes Sulaiman is an associate professor of international relations at Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani in Bandung, Indonesia and a non-resident fellow with the National Bureau of Asian Research.

by Chong Ja Ian, Natalie Sambhi, and Yohanes Sulaiman

Published on September 1, 2025 -  China in the World | S1:EP215 China in the World |

The focus of my teaching and research is on international relations, especially IR theory, security, Chinese foreign policy, and international relations in the Asia-Pacific. Of particular interest to me are issues that stand at the nexus of international and domestic politics, such as influences on nationalism and the consequences of major power competition on the domestic politics of third countries. I also enjoy looking at historical material in my research. In addition to my academic background, I have experience working in think-tanks both in Singapore and in the United States. As such, I also look at the relationship between political science theory and policy, and believe the two can inform each other.

I am author of External Intervention and the Politics of State Formation–China, Indonesia, Thailand, 1893-1952 (Cambridge, 2012), which received the 2013 Best Book Award from the International Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association.

Photo Credit: https://carnegieendowment.org/podcasts/china-in-the-world/calibrating-china-ties-indonesia?lang=en