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Indonesia sticks to foreign policy doctrine as great powers clash
Retno said that as countries in the region could expect that rivalries between the US and China would only increase in tension, she maintained that Indonesia’s foreign policy doctrine of being independent and active would be “increasingly relevant” and that ASEAN unity would be key to respond to the challenge.
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Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi speaks on behalf of President Joko Widodo at the ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit on Nov. 12, 2020. (Twitter/@Menlu_RI)
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s the rivalry between the United States and China becomes more intensified in the Indo-Pacific region, Indonesia once again maintained its neutrality, with Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi pledging to work within the framework of ASEAN as the primary conduit for the country's diplomacy.
Retno said that as countries in the region could expect that rivalries between the US and China would only increase in tension, she maintained that Indonesia’s foreign policy doctrine of being independent and active would be “increasingly relevant” and that ASEAN unity would be key to respond to the challenge.
"ASEAN should remain an anchor for stability, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," Retno said in her virtual speech.
The minister did not specifically mention the two major superpowers but said that "deepening rivalry between great powers" not only "presented yet another challenge for ASEAN", but also added to the world's problems of coronavirus, conflicts and tensions, refugee crisis and climate change.
Over the past few years, geopolitical tension between the US and China has increased in the Indo-Pacific region, which spans the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, with Indonesia and Southeast Asia being at the center.
In September, the US announced a new security partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom, dubbed AUKUS, which China protested, calling it a “threat to regional stability”. The US also doubled down on its engagement with Japan, Australia and India through the Quad by holding an in-person summit in Washington.
Shortly before Retno's speech on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison on Thursday signed a treaty to facilitate joint exercises as they vowed in a virtual meeting to strengthen security cooperation.
