Indonesia Mandates Direct Commodity Shipments, Freezes Power Exports in Energy Sovereignty Push

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Indonesia is overhauling its export architecture by ordering an immediate halt to resource transshipments through third-party hubs and freezing cross-border electricity sales, moving to protect state revenue and guarantee domestic energy security.

Coordinating Minister for Downstream Industry and Energy Transition, who also serves as Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, instructed ministry directors-general on Monday to ensure national exports of raw and processed commodities bypass intermediary transit ports entirely. Speaking at the Minerba Convex 2026 at the JIExpo Convention Center & Theatre in Jakarta, Bahlil stressed that mineral products and liquefied natural gas (LNG) bound for major Asian buyers must sail directly to destination markets.

The twin directives mark an aggressive escalation in Jakarta’s resource nationalism playbook. By cutting out third-party trading entrepôts and withholding planned green power deliveries to regional neighbors like Singapore, Southeast Asia’s largest economy is seeking to capture lost tax revenue, boost its own trade balance, and prioritize industrial feedstocks at home over regional commercial partnerships.

Eliminating Intermediary Transit Hubs

The policy directive targets shipping practices where Indonesian commodities dock in nearby transit states before reaching final buyers in markets such as China, Japan, and South Korea. According to Bahlil, these indirect routes erode Indonesia's commercial leverage while enriching transit hubs with trade balance surpluses and fiscal duties.

"Our natural resources must no longer travel through 'that' country when shipped to destinations like China; shipments from Jakarta must go straight to China," Bahlil said. "They merely stamp the cargo and claim it as their own export. Where did your goods come from? Ship directly. Our commodities have been handled this way for far too long, and I will not let them exploit us. I have already instructed the director-general."

The trade tensions encompass Indonesia's lucrative mining output as well as LNG contracts servicing North Asian utilities. Bahlil voiced frustration over arrangements where third-party jurisdictions capture tax windfalls from Indonesian wealth without assuming underlying operational or supply risks.

"Why rely on other countries? They collect the taxes and reap the trade balance benefits," Bahlil noted. "Indonesia is sovereign and will not be pushed around." While declining to name the specific transit nation on stage, Bahlil asserted that industry participants and observers were fully aware of the jurisdiction in question.

Freezing Cross-Border Power Deliveries

Alongside the shipping restrictions, the energy minister firmly shut down near-term ambitions to export electricity to regional neighbors, specifically addressing long-discussed power export plans to Singapore.

Bahlil maintained that domestic electrification and industrial demands must take precedence over regional power sales. He issued an explicit directive to the newly established sovereign investment entity, the Investment Management Agency Danantara (BPI Danantara), instructing leadership to resist outside lobbying.

"I have already declared that Indonesia cannot yet export electricity. We still require the power domestically," Bahlil said. "I have warned Danantara not to be swayed by lobbying. The authority to grant permits belongs solely to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, not Danantara."

Indonesia and Singapore previously entered into a memorandum of understanding to explore business-to-business renewable power interconnections, creating potential avenues for Danantara and private consortia. However, Bahlil underscored that national sovereignty and the energy security of 280 million citizens will dictate government approval before commercial arrangements advance.