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Indonesia told to prioritize Myanmar, Indo-Pacific
Southeast Asia analysts offer up a number of priority issues for Indonesia to consider as Jakarta prepares to take up the chairmanship of ASEAN next year.
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Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi (left) meets with Cambodian Interior Minister Sar Kheng in Phnom Penh on Aug. 4, ahead of a series of ASEAN meetings convened in the Cambodian capital. The ministers discussed details about a forthcoming memorandum of understanding (MoU) to help prevent and resolve human trafficking cases involving Indonesian citizens. (Courtesy of Foreign Ministry/-)
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mid preparations for November’s ASEAN Summit less than 40 days away, when the baton of the chairmanship is set to pass from Cambodia to Indonesia, calls are mounting for Jakarta to take decisive steps to address the Myanmar political crisis while juggling an abundance of other challenges that will test the Southeast Asia bloc’s unity.
The 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia will see Indonesia take on the chairmanship of Southeast Asia’s premier regional organization next month, just two days before it hosts the Group of 20 Summit in Bali. The high-level forums face tremendous upheaval amid rocky geopolitics and a battered global economy.
In identifying what issues Indonesia should prioritize as the next ASEAN chair, Southeast Asia analysts say Jakarta ought to ascertain practical steps for implementing some of the group’s existing and impending documents.
Among those are the expedition of the South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC), working out practical procedures for the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and most importantly – reviewing the five-point consensus (5PC) on the Myanmar coup crisis.
“ASEAN centrality and credibility are at stake here. [...] After the [failures] in the implementation of the five-point consensus, the ball will soon fall in our laps and we cannot afford to fail,” said former foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda in a recent discussion.
“Taking into account the development on the ground in the past two years, [there must be] a step-by-step process toward a workable solution for the people of Myanmar and ASEAN,” he added.
The 5PC is an ASEAN peace initiative agreed to last year by the region’s nine leaders and Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing, which calls for an immediate cessation of violence, dialogue among all parties, the appointment and the deployment of a special envoy as well as humanitarian assistance from ASEAN.
