ISSN 0216-5031 Halaman | 14 THE RISE OF MIDDLE POWER Konsistensi Indonesia sebagai Kekuatan Menengah: Studi Kasus Respon Deterrence di Natuna Amy Debora 2014330072 Mahasiswa Ilmu Hubungan Internasional, Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Universitas Katolik Parahyangan Abstrak As Jakarta is working to resolve the South China Sea (SCS) territorial dispute through its role as an honest broker, Beijing seems to lead the SCS conflict right into the foremost defense of the Republic of Indonesia. This is indicated by the China Coast Guard (CCG) aggressive actions in guarding illegal fishing in Natuna Sea. The conflict escalation raises the question of whether Natuna will enter into the SCS territorial dispute. However, these concerns did not occur due to the appropriate response of Jakarta in maintaining the stability of the region without undermining its defense of its territorial sovereignty. Significantly strengthening the defense in Natuna does not create a security dilemma for ASEAN member countries as it is done in conjunction with the border diplomacy effort. This shows the success of border diplomacy as indirect deterrence against China. This paper will be divided into 4 sections, first the author will give an overview of the SCS conflict and the threats to maritime security in Natuna. Next will be described the concept of ‘middlepowermanship’ according to Cooper, Higgot and Nossal who states that the middle power is reflected from the characteristics of foreign policy. This paper finds that the response reflects the Indonesia’s consistency as a middle power. Proved by Indonesia’s niche diplomacy under Jokowi administration, as well as the role of Jakarta as coalition builder for ASEAN. Keywords: South China Sea, middle power, Indonesian foreign policy, deterrence, diplomacy “China respects strength if they see you as being weak, they will eat you alive” – Dewi Fortuna Anwar, foreign policy adviser. Latar Belakang Power menjadi faktor dominan dalam perumusan politik luar negeri (PLN) suatu negara. Pertimbangan antara bagaimana negara memandang sumber-sumber power yang dimilikinya dan power seperti apa yang ingin diperlihatkan negara dalam hubungan internasional akan mempengaruhi politik luar negeri. Power negara diperlihatkan dengan 2 bentuk, yaitu status dan peran. Power sebagai status ditunjukkan dari faktor geografis seperti letak wilayah atau kekayaan sumber daya