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hen President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo finally released the list of his Cabinet members last month, it included the much-anticipated Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Indroyono Soesilo. Coordinating four maritime related ministries, this new post is mandated to implement the President'€™s vision to restore the spirit of Jalesveva Jayamahe (at sea we are victorious).

The President'€™s maritime vision focuses on four sectors so far '€” maritime connectivity, ocean-based energy, fisheries and maritime tourism. These sectors mainly focus on the management of natural marine resources. However, Jokowi'€™s foreign policy arrangement to support this vision is yet to come.

In the diplomatic field, in around 12 months, ASEAN is going to be integrated into one community. Neither of these agendas should obstruct each other, but both should be incorporated to achieve the best end for Indonesia'€™s national interest.

As Indonesia'€™s foreign policy stronghold, the ASEAN community holds the potential to patch the missing pieces of the President'€™s maritime vision through its concept of connectivity.

ASEAN connectivity as translated in the ASEAN Connectivity Master Plan (ACMP) is not limited to the development of physical infrastructure, but also institutional and people-to-people connectivity. Therefore, this concept of connectivity could effectively enable access for all Indonesians to capital, markets, supplies, technology and new opportunities.

Well-integrated connectivity is vital to build a maritime power, as already translated by the President through the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Ministry. Nevertheless, our focus should be on how Indonesia can connect itself more with its neighbors.

The often romanticized days of glory of the old Nusantara maritime kingdoms such as Sriwijaya and Majapahit were not built on marine-rich natural resources, but from the port cities that served as hubs connecting and bringing merchants from all over the world closer to the origins of natural resources.

To become a maritime power, one of the obstacles facing Indonesia is how to decentralize its flourishing economy toward its smaller islands, especially in the outer islands. Living far away from Java'€™s economic magnate, these small islands represent the maritime lifestyle of our nation, the poor communities that have received so little from Indonesia'€™s economic achievements. Besides that, due to logistical constraints, these areas are more economically inclined to the neighboring states across their borders instead of toward their nearest Indonesian cities.

Through well-established connectivity, this logistical constraint could be properly tackled, thus enabling new economic hubs around border areas. In the long term, these new hubs could be developed to connect small islands and patch this archipelago together even better. Integrating our borders with our fellow ASEAN member states would enable people on these islands to have better lives.

Besides bringing lots of economic advantages, connectivity also brings challenges in national security and sovereignty. This side of the game is usually transformed into a tug-of-war between the interests of user states passing through the waterways and the sovereignty as well as capability of coastal states like Indonesia over their border areas.

Through its mechanism ASEAN provides a platform to find harmony between both the user states and coastal states through the ASEAN Maritime Forum (AMF) and the Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF). Both the AMF and EAMF were established as a forum for equal dialogue for user states and coastal states to find a common understanding.

The balance of interest between these states is vital to ensure the stability and security of sea lanes.

When it comes to maritime affairs, not even the strongest nor wealthiest state can work on its own. Preserving and developing our rich natural resources is important and should be continued further, though we should not forget that the ASEAN community is also a valuable resource. Therefore, the ASEAN community should be directed to support our vision to be a global maritime axis.

For this purpose Indonesia needs a well-connected regional stronghold and, given the potential and ongoing progress, the ASEAN community serves as the stronghold for a maritime Indonesia to sail in the world'€™s ocean of interests.