It is encouraging, the Indo-Pacific concept that was pioneered and campaigned for by Indonesia was adopted as ASEAN Outlook at the 34th Summit.
The 34th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) took place in Bangkok on Sunday. Indonesia’s role in initiating this concept also received praise from ASEAN leaders. Furthermore, the concept will be used as a guideline in developing ASEAN cooperation with other countries in the Indo-Pacific region. It is hoped that the countries outside ASEAN can support and cooperate with the main areas presented in the Indo-Pacific outlook.
All of that did not stop in the technical sphere, such as in the economic field. However, the willingness of these countries is seen as their contribution to maintaining peace and efforts to increase prosperity in the region.
In this regard, we would like to express our appreciation for the leadership of President Joko Widodo and the persistence of Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi in campaigning for this important concept in various ASEAN forums.
The Indo-Pacific concept, among other things, was born from a visionary view that there is a threat of tight competition between the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean, such as the United States, China, India, Australia and Japan. Competition between them will affect Southeast Asia.
After the Indo-Pacific concept is accepted, the next step is how to implement it in the operational domain so that the concept does not stop as a discourse. There is a preference to prioritize dialogue rather than competition. Certainly the dialogue between countries in the region needs to be improved in various existing forums or particular forums held specifically to accommodate Indo-Pacific activities.
We also put emphasis on the importance of comprehensive development and welfare and the attention to the maritime sector in developing the region.
Responding to the phenomenon of the trade war between the US and China, ASEAN countries need to look at their respective domestic conditions, whether they are strong enough to withstand the impact. If the impact is huge, can the cooperation scheme between ASEAN members be used to increase the resilience of each member and also ASEAN as a whole.
The power and influence of those in conflict, in this case the US and China, are so large that a strong national resilience is needed for ASEAN members to withstand the effects of the existing war, related to the potential economic slowdown. If that happens, could economic activity in ASEAN be a buffer? On a broader scale, could ASEAN drive cooperation with nations in the Indo-Pacific region that are not directly involved in trade wars?
Furthermore, increasing the leverage of ASEAN so that it can be an influence to soften the conflict between the great powers. Our hope is that the Indo-Pacific concept campaigned by Indonesia can answer the real challenge.