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What was missing from FM Retno’s annual press statement
As this year’s chairman and de-facto leader of ASEAN, Indonesia should openly and clearly disclose where it stands on the three major security issues.
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Foreign policy outlook: Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi delivers her annual speech detailing the achievements and upcoming targets of Indonesian diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry building in Pejambon, Central Jakarta, on Jan. 11, 2022. (Courtesy of/Indonesian Foreign Ministry)
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n her annual press statement on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi elaborated in detail Indonesia’s major achievements in foreign diplomacy last year and the ministry’s priorities for this year. Unfortunately, she failed to address the issues of the South China Sea, a nuclear North Korean and Taiwan, despite their potential to trigger another world war.
The decision to shun the three delicate issues should be made by design. Some senior officials at the ministry hinted that the minister preferred to talk about the matters on separate occasions. Or, probably she wanted President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to directly address them for greater impact.
In her statement, Retno said that global challenges in 2023 would be more difficult than in previous years. “Global uncertainties and dynamic geopolitical situations will continue to characterize the world. Major power rivalries will become more intensified,” she said.
Quoting the IMF analysis, she emphasized that the world is facing an imminent global recession, and quoting the World Food Program (WFP), at least 50 million people across the world would face starvation.
Retno claimed Indonesia produced major achievements in at least five fields: Maintaining the country’s sovereignty, protecting Indonesian citizens abroad, enhancing economic diplomacy, protecting the people from COVID-19 through procurement of abundant vaccines and boosting Indonesia’s contribution to peace and security to the region and the world.
For 2023, the minister has set four targets as a continuation of last year’s success. First, enhancing sovereign diplomacy, including resolving disputes on land and sea boundaries. Second, improving protection of citizens abroad, including migrant workers. Third, advancing economic cooperation; and fourth, actively promoting peace and humanitarian diplomacy.
There should be reasons why Retno was reluctant to talk about the long-standing South China Sea dispute, the increasing nuclear threats from North Korea and the danger of forced reunification of Taiwan by Beijing. But as this year’s chairman and de-facto leader of ASEAN, Indonesia should openly and clearly disclose where it stands on the three major security issues.
