I

t is a matter of basic principle for Indonesia to ensure that the upcoming ASEAN Ministerial Meeeting in Viantine will address the latest developments in the South China Sea because any security threat in the area will directly impact on peace, order and stability of all 10 members of the regional grouping.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi should exhaust every effort and exercise her diplomatic skill and expertise to ensure the South China Sea issue is tabled at the meeting. She should not allow a repeat of the Phnom Penh embarrassment in 2012. Then, for the first time in 45 years, the foreign ministers failed to issue a joint communique because host Cambodia stubbornly rejected the inclusion of anything that would upset China.

As the largest member of ASEAN, Indonesia’s leadership is critically needed in facing this complex challenge.

The meeting in Laos capital serves as a litmus test for ASEAN, while for Retno it will be proof she is worthy of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s faith in assuming the chief diplomat’s job.

Four ASEAN members — Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia — have overlapping sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, where China claims nearly all the waters despite the Permanent Court of Arbitration declaring China’s claim to be baseless on July 12.

Host Laos has reportedly insisted on excluding the South China Sea issue from the agenda of the ministerial meeting, for fear it will anger China, its largest economic partner.

As the host and chair of ASEAN this year, Laos has the privelege of setting the agenda of the ministerial meeting as well as the meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and their regional partners and the security gathering, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

China is very important for ASEAN members, including Indonesia. All of them are eager to maintain close and friendly relations with the world’s second-largest economy.

China’s mighty economy is pivotal for the economic development of individual ASEAN members and the group as a whole. For Indonesia China is a major customer for its exports and a source of funding and investment.

But ASEAN should not let outside power dictate its policies because the members are all sovereign states. Despite the shortcomings, ASEAN has so far proved that it can maintain its integrity as a regional group.

Now there are very clear indications that ASEAN is divided in the face of the South China Sea issue. Thus it is down to Indonesia, and Retno, to uphold the group’s unity without unnecessarily riling China.