TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
After chairing G20 Summit, Jokowi should shift focus to Myanmar
Hun Sen has shown his penchant for undermining ASEAN’s collective action against the Myanmar junta.
Change Size
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (second left) and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi (right) walk as they attend the ASEAN leaders' summit at the bloc's secretariat building in Jakarta on April 24, 2021. (Handout/Muchlis Jr/Indonesian Presidential Palace via REUTERS)
The upcoming Group of 20 Summit, which will be held in Bali in early November, has been sapping the energy and attention of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, especially after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February, which has directly impacted the course of the gathering.
The daunting challenge facing Indonesia’s G20 presidency has apparently forced Jokowi to temporarily set aside the Myanmar cause. Jokowi had been seeking to marshal ASEAN support to put pressure on the military junta to end its barbaric acts against civilians and the infant democracy in the country.
To show his leadership, Jokowi is taking grand measures, including a visit to Ukraine and Russia this week in a bid, among other goals, to ensure that all leaders of the G20 states attend the Bali gathering and, if possible, to persuade Putin to ease the blockade on Ukraine so that it can export its much-needed wheat to the world.
Jokowi’s peace mission to Kyiv and Moscow received the blessing of the Group of Seven leaders during their summit in Germany, which Jokowi attended in his capacity as G20 rotating chair.
Following the G20 summit, Jokowi’s next diplomatic mission is to assume the chairmanship of ASEAN, taking over from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. But before the changing of the guard, Jokowi should make sure Hun Sen does not embarrass ASEAN by inviting Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to the ASEAN Summit in October.
Next year will be a perfect time for Indonesia to lead ASEAN in ending the Myanmar conundrum. The stick alone has proven ineffective to make the Myanmar junta comply with the five-point consensus, which includes an immediate cessation of violence, dialogue among all parties and admitting humanitarian assistance from ASEAN. The group will also need a carrot, while helping the divided opposition unite and separating Gen. Hlaing from other military generals.
During the summit, ASEAN leaders normally host a series of events, such as the East Asian Summit, which invites dialogue partners. This year they include United States President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
