Yudhoyono to skip US-ASEAN summit in NY

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will likely skip the US-ASEAN summit to be held on the sidelines of the UN meeting in New York on Sept. 24, the Foreign Ministry says.

Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said the President had already made “earlier commitments” and did not plan to attend the UN General Assembly meeting in New York from Sept. 20-28. “Vice President [Boediono] will most likely be in attendance,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Faizasyah was quick to dismiss speculation the President may have decided not to visit the US after US President Barack Obama called off his planned visits to Indonesia — where he spent part of his childhood — this year.

Obama was initially scheduled to fly to Jakarta in March, but postponed until June 14 as he had to focus on healthcare legislation reform at home.

Early in June, Washington announced that Obama was again forced to cancel his trip to Indonesia and Australia at a time when he was trying to cope with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The President “has items on the national agenda that could not be set aside,” Faizasyah said, adding that the invitation to the summit was given at short notice. “The US government seems to assume all ASEAN leaders will attend the UN meeting.”

The US under Obama has been making efforts to flex its muscle in Southeast Asia after years of neglect under the leadership of his predecessor. Observers say the situation has paved the way for China to launch its charm offensive in the area and further sidelined the last remaining superpower in the increasingly strategic region.

The first US-ASEAN summit was held on the sidelines of the APEC meeting last November, a few months after Washington signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with ASEAN.

As Indonesia is the largest member of ASEAN and plays a crucial leadership role within the regional grouping, the absence of Yudhoyono at the summit will certainly be noted, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) researcher Dewi Fortuna Anwar said, but added that the Indonesian leader’s absence at the New York summit would not affect US efforts to court ASEAN.

She said it was possible the President was too busy at home to attend the summit, but added that it was also only natural for Yudhoyono to skip a trip to the US as he had previously visited the country for the G20 meeting in September 2009.

“The principle of reciprocity usually applies in state visits. Yudho-yono visited the US under Obama. I think that’s a good reason to instead wait for Obama to come here,” she said.