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E. Asian expert nominated as new US envoy
Joseph R
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Joseph R. Donovan - State.gov
A top US diplomat with vast experience in East Asian affairs is set to replace retiring envoy Robert Blake as the next US ambassador to Indonesia, as Washington looks to consolidate its rebalancing policy in Southeast Asia before the imminent transfer of power.
US President Barack Obama named Joseph R. Donovan, the current managing director of the Washington office of the American Institute in Taiwan, as his nominee for the coveted post of leading the US Embassy in Jakarta.
Donovan, who has largely built his career in the US Foreign Service around East Asian affairs, was part of a group of 12 officials who President Obama announced would take up key administration posts in the US government. He was the sole diplomat nominated in the group.
“I am confident that these experienced and hardworking individuals will help us tackle the important challenges facing America and I am grateful for their service. I look forward to working with them,” Obama said recently.
An official with the US Embassy in Jakarta confirmed Donovan’s nomination, saying his name is currently under consideration by the US Senate, which would most likely sign off on the ambassador designate.
Previously, Donovan served as foreign policy advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon from 2012 to 2014, as an associate professor at the National Defense University in Washington, DC, from 2011 to 2012 and as principal deputy assistant secretary in the bureau of East Asian and Pacific affairs at the State Department from 2009 to 2011.
Acknowledging that the Jakarta posting was a prestigious one for American diplomats, US-Indonesian relations expert Dino Patti Djalal said the South China Sea (SCS) issue would not be the focus for US diplomacy in the country.
“I don’t know what Washington is thinking in [nominating] the candidate, but I think basing [the relationship] on the SCS alone is not going to be sufficient,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
“Although we play a role in [SCS] conflict management, we are the country with the largest Muslim population in the world; we are also the third largest democracy and [...] have a key position in ASEAN. So I think those would be the primary factors in how the US looks at Indonesia these days.”
Washington would have much more likely nominated the East Asian expert to fill in the Jakarta post as part of its rebalancing policy toward Asia, Dino said.
“What’s clear to me is that Indonesia is a key country in President Obama’s rebalancing policy, so I’m sure they’re going to pick the best candidate,” Dino told the Post.
The US has been seeking to bolster ties with Southeast Asian nations as part of the US “pivot” toward the Asia-Pacific region amid concerns about China’s growing assertiveness.
The rebalancing policy touches on enhancing security and military relationships, but also on diplomatic, economic, trade, cultural and educational relationships.
