Pacific history and geopolitics: Indonesia’s secret intelligence report on Libya and the Separatist Movement 1987

This article examines Libya’s involvement in the post-Cold War era in the South Pacific by analyzing the International Conference in Misrata in 1987 as a means of expanding the country’s influence through Muammar Qaddafi’s foreign policy. Based on the Indonesian Intelligence declassification document (BAKIN), Libya is undertaking strategic initiatives as a form of support for the region, including security training, financial assistance, and symbolic legitimacy. This has had a significant impact on the separatist movements in New Caledonia, Irian Jaya (Papua), Timor Leste, and Aceh. These movements gained new vigor and international legitimacy despite Libya’s limited material contributions. Western countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, are concerned about regional stability in the region. The main argument of this article is that Libya is leveraging oil-based non-traditional diplomacy and anti-imperialist ideology to expand its influence into regions far from the traditional orbits of the Middle East and Africa. The strategy not only challenges the Western geopolitical order, but also influences the dynamics of the Pacific region in more subtle ways – through symbolism, legitimacy, and networks of solidarity. This analysis confirms that geopolitical threats are not only present in the form of military threats, but also through ideological and symbolic diplomacy that shifts the perception of regional actors.