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Revisiting Jokowi’s global maritime fulcrum
It took President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo only seven minutes at the ninth East Asia Summit (EAS) in Nay Pyi Taw in November 2014 to define his global maritime fulcrum vision in geopolitical and geoeconomic terms and thus as a succinct geostrategy.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (front right) talks to Maritime Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan (front left) and other ministers during the soft launching ceremony of the Kertajati International Airport in Majalengka, West Java. (Antara/M Agung Rajasa )
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t took President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo only seven minutes at the ninth East Asia Summit (EAS) in Nay Pyi Taw in November 2014 to define his global maritime fulcrum vision in geopolitical and geoeconomic terms and thus as a succinct geostrategy. “I choose this forum to convey my concept of Indonesia as a global maritime fulcrum and my expectation of the role of the East Asia Summit in the future,” he said.
In the immense transformation East Asia was going through, he continued, the role of the seas was becoming crucial. The Indian and Pacific oceans are a single geopolitical and geoeconomic unit, a pivotal passage for global trade.
And Indonesia is right in the middle of that strategic transformation. Being in the middle of the two oceans, Indonesia needs to confirm itself as the global maritime fulcrum. Indonesia needs to construct regional and international cooperation for the people’s welfare.
The agenda for constructing the global maritime fulcrum consists of five pillars. First, we will rebuild Indonesia’s maritime culture; second, we will protect and manage our maritime resources with a focus on producing maritime food supplies through the fishing industry, in which fishermen are the main source of supply.
Third, we will give priority to the development of maritime infrastructure and connectivity through the construction of maritime highways, deep-sea ports, logistics and shipping industries as well as maritime tourism; fourth, through maritime diplomacy we will invite all of Indonesia’s dialogue partners to cooperate in the maritime sector.
“Together we will have to eliminate sources of conflicts at sea, such as illegal and unregulated fishing, violations of sovereignty, territorial conflicts, piracy and pollution. The seas will have to connect us, not separate, us.”
Fifth, Indonesia has the responsibility to build its maritime defense force, not only to protect our sovereignty and maritime resources but also to guarantee maritime safety and security through our waterways.
