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ASEAN the cornerstone of RI foreign policy, again
ASEAN’s designation as the “cornerstone” of Indonesian foreign policy came in the 1970s during the first decade of the New Order regime.
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Workers add final touches to the ASEAN logo at the 27th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nov. 19. (AP/Joshua Paul)
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SEAN has been at the core of Indonesia’s preferred regional order since its inception in 1967. However, after half a century, it is clear that regional challenges have got the best of ASEAN and that the grouping requires substantial reform if it is going to remain the cornerstone of Indonesia’s foreign policy.
Ibrahim Almuttaqi’s article on March 17, “ASEAN still the cornerstone of Indonesia’s foreign policy,” responding to the debate between myself and Dedi Dinarto of the Gadjah Mada University in The Diplomat, rightly reminds us of the importance ASEAN has held for Indonesia over the last 50 years.
ASEAN’s designation as the “cornerstone” of Indonesian foreign policy came in the 1970s during the first decade of the New Order regime.
ASEAN served the regime’s priorities by fostering greater regional resilience from great power rivalry that was vital to the pursuit of national resilience.
National development and political cohesion were dependent upon a level of regional stability. ASEAN suited Indonesia’s interests.
But today ASEAN is unable to muster sufficient unity to play the role of regional manager the way it once did. It is ASEAN, and not Indonesia, that has undergone the greater changes in recent years. Jakarta’s core interests over the last half-century remain largely the same: the development of national resilience. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s turn towards pragmatic bilateralism is a symptom of ASEAN’s struggles, not its cause.
The regional developments that have hampered ASEAN unity have really come in the last decade. This last ten years have seen ASEAN’s ability to shield the region from great power rivalry come under great strain.
