China has become Indonesia’s largest trading partner and its third largest foreign investor. Indonesia’s Global Maritime Fulcrum and China’s Belt Road Initiative at first glance seem to be like a perfect match. But bilateral relations have always been complicated by being entangled with Indonesian domestic politics. Frequent maritime disputes concerning the fishing rights near the Natuna Islands have also posed potentially harmful challenges to Indonesia – China relations in recent years. In view of the rivalry between the US and China and the emergence of various Indo-Pacific initiatives from other countries, Indonesia believes that ASEAN must maintain its centrality.