Join Donald Trump's Peace Council, Will Indonesia be a Foreign Puppet?

JAKARTA - Indonesia's decision to take part in the Board of Peace (BoP) or the Peace Council formed by US President Donald Trump has been flooded with criticism from within the country.

Donald Trump officially launched the Gaza Peace Council on Thursday (22/1/2026) on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland. Indonesia decided to join in. In his speech, Trump said he wanted to create momentum for the future project of the Gaza Strip.

"This is not the United States, this is for the world. I think we can spread it to other things when we succeed in Gaza," Trump said.

Meanwhile, President Prabowo Subianto said Indonesia's accession to the BoP was a historic moment and signaled that the international community continued to promote peace in Gaza.

"I think this is a historic opportunity. This is a historic opportunity. This is really an opportunity to achieve peace in Gaza," said Prabowo.

However, Prabowo's decision to join the BoP has drawn criticism. Shofwan Al-Banna, an international relations observer at the University of Indonesia (UI), assessed that Indonesia's siding with the US-dominated council has the potential to undermine good relations with US rival countries and damage Indonesia's international reputation as a non-bloc country.

So far, 20 countries have received Donald Trump's invitation to join his council, but a number of countries, including Europe, have refused to join.

Citing the New York Times, the countries that agreed to join, in addition to Indonesia, are Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, and Israel. Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain also joined.

The Peace Council, which was formed by Trump, aims to resolve global conflicts. However, this has created skepticism from some US allies.

One of the information related to the Peace Council that triggered criticism is that there are no Palestinians in the composition of its executive council members. Trump actually involved former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The Peace Council was originally expected to oversee a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. However, analysts argue that Trump is trying to create a rival United Nations (UN), which puts him in charge.

As chairman, Trump will have a veto over some of the body's decisions. He also asked countries to pay a fee of 1 billion US dollars (about Rp16.9 trillion) for its permanent members.

Indonesia's involvement in the Peace Council has drawn criticism. Some netizens even called Prabowo's government a foreign agent.

Professor of Political Science at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta Ali Munhanif reminded the Indonesian government to pay attention to global geopolitical conditions. Active communication with countries that have opposed this council from the beginning must be carried out so as not to harm Indonesia in multilateral cooperation.

The Indonesian government, said Ali, must stick to the original purpose of the Peace Council, namely to resolve the conflict and reconstruction of GAZA.

"Indonesia needs to be careful. Once the Peace Council deviates from the Gaza issue, Indonesia must immediately act," he said.

Executive Director of PARA Syndicate Virdika Rizky Utama questioned the purpose of the Board of Peace for peace and stabilization. He said, the Peace Council was not born from a multilateral consensus to improve the failed international mechanism, but from a unilateral political initiative that then sought legitimacy.

"Gaza is a test case for a model of conflict management that does not depart from justice, but from stability. Violence is not stopped, but administered," he said.

Furthermore, Virdika assessed that the establishment of a peace forum was meaningless because civilians and journalists continued to fall. He also questioned the morality of members of the Peace Council, who seemed to let this happen.

"What happened was not the cessation of war, but the normalization of the conflict so that it can be accepted politically," said Virdka.

Criticism was also made by UI International Relations Observer Shofwan Al-Banna. He assessed that the decision to join the Peace Council tends to be hasty and has a great risk for national interests.

"Indonesia must not lose its foreign policy principles. Do not let us become 'security guards' to secure real estate projects in the form of sending troops to the International Stabilization Force," said Shofwan, quoting Antara.

Shofwan also highlighted the board's structure, which is very centralized on Donald Trump's personal figure. He said this board paradigm resembles a colonial way of thinking that divides the territory without involving the direct voice of the Palestinian people. Moreover, the permanent seat on the council is valued at trillions of rupiah.

Indonesia's alignment with the Peace Council risks undermining Indonesia's good relations with Washington's rival countries and damaging Indonesia's international reputation as a non-bloc country. Instead of being "a recognition of Indonesia's important role and value", participation could instead create the perception that Indonesia is easily dictated by Donald Trump.

"Indonesia's participation in the midst of 20 signatory countries is now a big test for the consistency of Jakarta's free-active diplomacy," said Shofwan again.

"The public is now waiting to see whether the opening of humanitarian access in Rafah and the presence of ISF forces can really bring real sovereignty to the Palestinian people, or rather strengthen the transactional dominance of the US under the control of the Donald Trump administration," he concluded.