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Jokowi’s G20 magic fails to work for ASEAN
ASEAN leaders refrained from explicitly supporting expulsion of the military junta-ruled Myanmar from ASEAN and immediate recognition of the opposition parties, including the National Unity Government (NUG) as the official representative of the ousted government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
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On the sideline: ASEAN leaders and ministers (from left to right) Brunei’s Finance and Economy Minister Amin Liew Abdullah, Indonesia’s Coordinating Economics Minister Airlangga Hartarto, Asian Development Bank president Masatsugu Asakawa, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, Malaysia’s Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli and Philippines' Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Maria Belen Acosta pose for a family photo before the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines, the East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) meeting during the ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo on May 11, 2023. (AFP/Pool/Bay Ismoyo)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo reaped international praise for not only foiling threats from the leaders of major countries like United States President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron to boycott the Group of 20 Summit in Bali last November, but also for guiding the world’s 20 largest economies to unified political stances and concrete economic commitments.
Unsurprisingly, when Jokowi took the ASEAN helm from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen late last year, hopes were rife he would lead the regional grouping to major breakthroughs with ease, including a bold agreement to end the military’s rampant atrocities in Myanmar. Jokowi’s magic, however, did not work during the ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara last week.
Why did President Jokowi fail to apply the recipe for G20 success to a smaller organization like ASEAN? The view of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Myanmar needs to be taken into account. In his message, Lee implicitly called on Jokowi not be too naïve about Myanmar.
The 10-member ASEAN is practically divided between those who support Jokowi’s Myanmar peace plan and those who insist that the bloc refrains from intervening with the domestic affairs of any member of the group. Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines are in favor of Jokowi. Predominantly Buddhist nations such as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and communist Vietnam are against any form of intervention. The absolute monarchy of Brunei is also against Jokowi’s initiative.
The G20 Summit saw leaders of all member states except Russian President Vladimir Putin turn up and come up with a leaders’ declaration, including their condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Previously Biden and Macron had talked of a possible boycott as Jokowi insisted on inviting Putin to the summit.
The division among ASEAN member states, unlike that of the G20 economies, is a matter of political survival of their respective leaders. Those who back Myanmar to overcome its domestic crisis are mostly leaders who came to power not through a democratic process.
But we should remember that some ASEAN countries support Indonesia’s initiative on Myanmar not without their own agenda.
