Observers Say There Is No Data Exchange Urgency In RI-US Trade Cooperation

JAKARTA - Public policy observer from Trisakti University, Trubus Rahadiansyah, reminded the potential danger in cooperation between Indonesia and the United States (US) involving data exchange.

According to him, there is no strong urgency to involve data exchange in the context of trade cooperation between the two countries.

"In my opinion, in terms of cooperation between America and Indonesia, especially in the context of trade, there is actually no urgency for data exchange," Trubus said when contacted by VOI, Wednesday, July 23.

Nevertheless, he suspects that there is a deeper geopolitical interest in this collaboration, especially because of Indonesia's strategic position as a member of BRICS. Trubus suspects that America could use data exchange to monitor China's movement through Indonesia.

"I think this is what natural resources are aiming for so as not to fall into other countries. Indonesia is included in the BRICS member. America may be afraid because of the BRICS block. It could be that the data indirectly monitors China's movement," he said.

In addition, President Prabowo Subianto's closeness to Russia also adds to US concerns. Indonesia can be a arena for the influence of superpowers. "Moreover, recently, Pak Prabowo has been very close to Russia. This is our concern, Indonesia is a place to fight for a superpower," said Trubus.

Even so, Trubus still hopes that this cooperation can be taken on a positive side, especially in terms of efforts to eradicate transnational crimes. "What is clear is that we just take the positives, hopefully this means ways to protect international crimes," he said.

The President of the United States (US), Donald J. Trump, has publicly leaked the framework of the latest trade agreement between the US and Indonesia. This agreement includes various important points, including reciprocal rates and digital cooperation commitments between the two countries.

In the spotlight, this agreement also touched on the issue of transferring personal data from Indonesia to America. In the official document, it is stated that Indonesia will provide legal certainty over the company's ability to transfer personal data to the US.

The US government stated that the mechanism is in line with Indonesian law because America is considered a country with adequate data protection. "American companies have been waiting for this reform for years," the White House wrote in its official statement.