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View all search resultsPNG’s ASEAN bid: Rhetoric versus reality
In addition to challenges posed by Indonesia, PNG's longstanding ambition to join ASEAN encounters substantial hurdles, chiefly stemming from domestic issues.
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Then defense minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto (left) speaks with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape on Aug. 21, 2024, during their meeting in Port Moresby. (Antara/Defense Ministry Secretariat General)
I
n January 1988, Paias Wingti made history as the first prime minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to visit Jakarta, where he received a warm official welcome from then president Soeharto.
During his visit, Wingti highlighted PNG’s support for the nonalignment movement and expressed his country’s keen interest in joining ASEAN. His proposal was built on the observer status granted to PNG in 1976 following its independence in 1975.
Thirty-seven years later, Indonesia’s current President Prabowo Subianto, Soeharto’s former son-in-law and an ex-special forces commander during the New Order regime, put forth a proposal to officially support PNG’s bid to join the largest organization in Southeast Asia during a summit on May 27.
This proposal marks a crucial turning point, with significant implications not only for PNG but also for Indonesia and the broader Pacific region.
Since taking office in October, Prabowo has worked to elevate Indonesia’s standing on the regional and global stages. Unlike his predecessor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who showed less enthusiasm for engaging in international forums, Prabowo has taken a more proactive approach, using his rhetoric as a diplomatic tool to gain visibility and secure economic deals.
However, much like earlier controversial remarks including about cooperation with China in the South China Sea’s contentious area and a premature peace proposal between Russia and Ukraine, Prabowo’s backing of PNG’s application reflected a more individualistic viewpoint. His approach lacked a solid institutional strategy among the key stakeholders in Jakarta.
Over the past two decades, Indonesia has increasingly engaged with the Pacific region. Yet, the proposal to support PNG’s membership in ASEAN has not come to fruition. Two official meetings between Prabowo and PNG Prime Minister James Marape in August and October last year were chiefly viewed as gestures that paved the way for Indonesia's support of PNG's bid to join ASEAN.
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