In an opinion piece published by South China Morning Post on Monday, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut B. Pandjaitan says that as a middle power, Indonesia will not choose between China and the US, but could mediate between the two. After firing the opening shots of a trade war, China and the US have entered what is likely to be a protracted standoff as they jockey to win concessions from each other. This geopolitical rivalry is anticipated to play out vigorously in the Indo-Pacific, which includes Southeast Asia – Indonesia being at the heart of it as the largest country, writes Mustafa Izzudin for Policy Forum.