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US lays on charm, highlights Indo-Pacific shared values during RI leg of SEA tour
United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman said Indonesia and the US shared a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
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he United States touted its shared values with Indonesia for the Indo-Pacific concept during a high-level visit on Monday, a first diplomatic offensive launched under President Joe Biden’s administration to Southeast Asia, where Chinese diplomatic influence has been growing rapidly.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar hosted on Monday his American counterpart Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman, who is on a diplomatic tour in the region this week, visiting Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.
In a joint statement after the meeting, Sherman said Indonesia was a leader within ASEAN and “an anchor of the rules based order in the Indo-Pacific".
“Indonesia and the US also share a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, including a commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful usages of the sea,” she said.
[RA::US-ASEAN partnership a 'positive force' for Indo-Pacific region: Indonesian foreign minister::/news/2020/11/14/us-asean-partnership-a-positive-force-for-indo-pacific-region-indonesian-foreign-minister.html
The Indo-Pacific concept is a strategic reimagining of the Asia-Pacific region that is interpreted differently by different countries and interests.
The US aims to take the focus away from China and its increasing influence in the wider region. A 2017 national security document that was declassified earlier this year revealed the details of the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy, which included “preventing China from establishing new, illiberal spheres of influence”.
Despite the country’s size and centrality in terms of location, Indonesia was barely mentioned in the document. This raised concerns that the US policy focused more on containing China’s influence without engaging with other countries in the region.
At Indonesia’s proposal, ASEAN adopted the Outlook on the Indo-Pacific in 2019 that promotes "open, inclusive, transparent and rules-based" order, setting itself apart from alienating China, which is already very active in engaging its neighbors in Southeast Asia.
While saying that Indonesia welcomed the US’ commitment and active role in the Indo-Pacific, Mahendra said the Southeast Asian nation was convinced that the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific had offered an inclusive, open and mutually beneficial cooperation expansion that the US could use in the region.
The deputy minister said Indonesia had held hopes that the two countries could have more concrete cooperation under the framework of the Indonesia-United States Strategic Partnership since Biden’s inauguration in January.
“We also thoroughly discussed aspects related to the Indo-Pacific, with the development of the Middle East, Palestine and, of course, Myanmar. And we also conveyed that in the future, we hope to have a strategic dialogue at the ministerial level, which is the bilateral mechanism between the two countries,” he said.
Read also: Indonesia is a Pan Indo-Pacific super power
Sherman met with Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi on Monday evening, as well as officials from the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives.
The bloc and the US were supposed to have a virtual ministerial meeting last week, but it was postponed due to a communication glitch as US Secretary of States Antony Blinken was on his way to the Middle East, according to reports. A similar meeting with China is scheduled for this month.
The meetings were mandated by ASEAN leaders during a meeting in Jakarta on April 24.
The two deputy ministers also discussed COVID-19 response, vaccine distribution, climate change and efforts to strengthen bilateral relations.
Indonesia is hoping to increase trade with the US, said Mahendra, who was tasked by President Joko “Jokowi” WIdodo to focus on economic diplomacy, including ensuring that Indonesia would keep its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) privileges with the US.
“We discussed steps that can be taken [on] the extension of the provisions of GSP facilities, which is currently being finalized by the legislative process in the US. But both governments are optimistic this will continue and we are ready to cooperate even more on this element,” he said.
Read also: EU looks for common interest in Indo-Pacific: Envoy
Mahendra and Sherman said they also had “a very serious discussion” on the recent surge of anti-Asian hate crimes in the US. Both diplomats said Indonesia and the US shared the same values of inclusivity and would not tolerate discrimination in any form.
“Indonesia is paying close attention to the steps taken by the US government and local authorities to ensure the security and safety of [...] Indonesians [...] in the US,” Mahendra said.
A study conducted by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, found that a 164 percent year-on-year increase in hate crimes had been reported to the police in 16 US cities in the first quarter of this year.
The report cited the rise in COVID-19 cases and an increase in political and online stigmatizing of Asians as the reason for the “historic surge in anti-Asian hate crime” last year. It also noted that there had been an increase of similar hate crimes in 2014 following reports of North Korea’s human rights violations and in 2018 when the US and China engaged in a trade war.
