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Abe offers RI Indo-Pacific strategy

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo what many consider to be an alternative to China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) after meeting at the Bogor Palace on Sunday

Tama Salim and Fedina Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta/Bogor
Mon, January 16, 2017

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Abe offers RI Indo-Pacific strategy

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apanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo what many consider to be an alternative to China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) after meeting at the Bogor Palace on Sunday.

Neither Abe nor Jokowi directly mentioned the proposal for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy” during their brief press conference, but it was confirmed later by Yasuhisa Kawamura, a spokesperson from the Japanese Foreign Ministry, that both leaders had raised the issue behind closed doors.

Jokowi, however, urged Japan to commit resources to cooperating with members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), an under-utilized group of states located along the geostrategic economic rim. The IORA connects the Indian and Pacific oceans through inter-regional cooperative mechanisms.

“We want to encourage Japan to increase their maritime cooperation with IORA member countries, which Indonesia [currently chairs],” Jokowi told a joint press conference on Sunday.

As an IORA dialogue partner, Abe agreed to enhance Japan’s participation in the IORA and said Japan would participate in the Leaders’ Summit to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of IORA to be held in Jakarta on March 7, a press statement circulated by the Foreign Ministry stated after the joint conference.

Abe also underscored maritime cooperation as the main priority in both countries’ bilateral relations.

“Japan will actively encourage cooperation in maritime security and the development of Indonesia’s remote islands through the Japan-Indonesia Maritime Forum that was established in December,” Abe added.

After the joint press conference, Kawamura confirmed that Abe had previously explained the “free and open” concept during his meetings with President Rodrigo Duterte and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

According to detailed material about the proposal, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakatra Post, Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy seeks to promote “cooperation among Japan, ASEAN countries, the US, Australia and India”.

Similar to OBOR, the strategy offers improved connectivity within Southeast Asia and “from Southeast Asia to Southeast Africa through Southwest Asia and the Middle East”. It also adds a security component, including “capacity-building assistance to coastal countries of the Indo-Pacific” region.

The proposal was previously presented to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visited Tokyo in November, seeking to synergize with India’s “Act East” policy and Japan’s own expanded partnership for quality infrastructure.

Evan Laksmana, a senior researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), sees nothing fundamentally disagreeable about having an open and free Indo-Pacific region underpinned by maritime connectivity, but doubted Jakarta’s geopolitical capacity and political will to become the “strategic bridge” between the oceans.

Indonesian Institute of Sciences researcher Riefqi Muna also underscored Indonesia’s middle power role in the Indo-Pacific, saying that Indonesia needed to step up to the occasion when choosing between the Japanese and Chinese proposals.

Jokowi and Abe also agreed to have Indonesia host the second Indonesia-Japan foreign and defense ministerial meeting, or “2+2 Meeting”, in Jakarta later this year. The first meeting was held on Dec. 17, 2015, in Tokyo.

According to the joint press statement, both leaders will “work together to expeditiously sign an agreement concerning the transfer of defense equipment and technology”. There was no mention of the value or details of the deal.

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