The question is, why has Biden chosen not to come? We are also curious if the problem lies with the Indonesian side.

President Jokowi has said he is still waiting for the final confirmation from the leaders invited, including President Biden. But Reuters recently quoted multiple sources as saying that Washington had formally informed Jakarta that Vice President Kamala Harris would come on Biden's behalf. The first Asian and female US vice president visited Singapore and Vietnam in August 2021 but skipped Indonesia. 

We fail to see any valid reason that has forced the US leader to send his deputy to Jakarta. The nonappearance of the world's most powerful leader will always spark speculation, and the host tends to take it as a personal slight or an indication of lack of respect. 

But before complaining, Jokowi should blame himself for failing to foster a robust relationship between the two countries. He has paid little attention to the US, despite several visits there, but focuses more on China and other emerging forces as the epicenter of his foreign-policy platforms. Just for the record, during his presidency Jokowi has visited the US only three times, as against six visits to China.

During his first term as president, Jokowi let then-ambassador Budi Bowoleksono serve on as Indonesian ambassador to the US for five years until January 2019, two years longer than the normal term. A president usually appoints his own trusted person to such a key position. 

In January 2019, Jokowi appointed career diplomat and former deputy minister of finance and trade Mahendra Siregar as Budi's replacement. But nine months later, Jokowi recalled Mahendra and appointed him the deputy foreign minister.

The ambassadorial post in Washington was vacant for nearly 11 months until Jokowi swore in former Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Muhammad Lutfi as the new envoy on Sept. 14, 2020. His term lasted only three months because Jokowi appointed him to the position of trade minister.

The Indonesian Embassy in DC was without an ambassador for 17 months from December 2020 until July 2022, when Jokowi named then-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman Rosan Perkasa Roeslani the Indonesian envoy to the US. Now the embassy has been left vacant again since last month after Rosan was appointed deputy state-owned enterprises minister.

Jakarta certainly expects the White House or the State Department to immediately provide an official excuse for Biden’s no-show, given the fact that the ASEAN Summit, slated for Sept. 4-7, is one of the most influential leaders' meetings in the Asia-Pacific region.

The upcoming summit will be personally meaningful for Jokowi because this will be the last time for him to chair a multilateral meeting before leaving office in October next year. The summit has been moved forward by two months because Indonesia will be preoccupied with legislative and presidential election campaigns from November 2023 to early February 2024.

After the ASEAN summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the Group of 20 Summit in New Delhi on Sept. 9-10. Knowing the warming ties between Biden and Modi, there is a possibility that the US president will attend the Delhi summit.

Biden's absence from the ASEAN Summit will only raise questions about the US commitment to the region amid the rising tension between Washington and Beijing and China's escalating military actions in the South China Sea. Four of the 10 ASEAN members, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines, are embroiled in territorial disputes with China in the resources-rich sea.

Hopefully, if Biden really gives the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta a miss, Jokowi will not retaliate by shunning the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco in mid-November, which Biden will host. Indonesia still needs a friend like the US, and vice versa.