Indonesia and the world<\/p>\n
Bantarto Bandoro
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government is only
\neights months old since its inception last October. The President
\nhimself realizes that as a national leader he needs to
\ndemonstrate to the public his ability to manage the country's
\nnational and international problems.<\/p>\n
Although Susilo in his inauguration speech as the country's
\nfifth president in October last year stated that he would
\nconcentrate on domestic problems, he cannot avoid seeing
\nIndonesia as part of the international discourse, meaning that
\nwhat he initiates domestically will certainly have some impact on
\nthe way the country conducts its international relations.<\/p>\n
Thus it is important not to ignore the role of domestic
\nfactors in the execution of our foreign relations. Susilo pledged
\nthat he would continue to uphold the \"free and active\" principle
\nof foreign policy, and is committed to make the voice of
\nIndonesia increasingly heard internationally.<\/p>\n
It is a fact that Indonesia is the world's fourth populous
\ncountry and perceived to be the most influential in the region of
\nSoutheast Asia. It has more than 17,000 islands, spanning from
\nthe east of Malaysia to the western portion of the island of
\nPapua New Guinea, and controls critical sea lanes thus making it
\na strategic regional state of Southeast Asia. The international
\ncommunity recognizes that Indonesia, under the leadership of
\nSusilo, needs to initiate more national and regional policies to
\nmake the region safer and more stable.<\/p>\n
The arrival of the Susilo government coincided with regional
\nefforts to build a zone of peace and stability through the idea
\nof the ASEAN Community. The government is witnessing that the
\nregion is only halfway toward building a strong, stable and
\nintegrated Asia Pacific community. It is thus important that the
\ncurrent government provides full diplomatic support towards the
\nrealization of such community.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, however, should not see the world only from the
\nperspective of its immediate region. Its vision of the world
\nshould go beyond its current status as the largest and most
\npowerful Southeast Asian country, although Southeast Asia should
\ncontinue to be the cornerstone of our foreign policy.<\/p>\n
It is understandable therefore that Susilo has attended many
\nimportant international meetings, such as APEC in Santiago, the
\nASEAN summit meeting in Laos, the ASEM meeting in Hanoi, in order
\nto make the voice of Indonesia heard internationally and to
\nannounce its newness to the world.<\/p>\n
In addition to his presence at these international forum,
\nSusilo has made important foreign visits to, among others, to
\nSingapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Timor Leste and
\nChina. To the surprise of many, Susilo was also seen at the
\nfuneral of Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, indicating the
\ngovernment's policy in supporting Palestinian independence.<\/p>\n
The just finished Asian-African Summit here also reflects the
\nimportance of Indonesia as one of the vanguards of the Afro Asia
\nmovement. The country is also seeking a seat on the UN Security
\nCouncil, a move that indicates its full support for UN reform.<\/p>\n
This week there will also be meetings between our President
\nand the leaders of two major powers, the United States and Japan.
\nJakarta is striving to reestablish good relations with
\nWashington, while recognizing the fact that the U.S. is an
\nimportant factor for the security and stability of the world. The
\nJakarta government, however, supports global sentiment that
\ninternational issues be solved through multilateral frameworks.<\/p>\n
If the Bush administration is able to reestablish ties with
\nJakarta, it will result, among other things, in more U.S.
\nweaponry being sold to Indonesia, which can be used to patrol the
\ncountry's critical sea lanes, and the reestablishment of IMET
\n(International Military Education Training) programs. Indonesia's
\ninternational diplomacy has even dragged China into its global
\npolicy framework by initiating a strategic partnership between
\nthe two countries, which is good anyway, as long as China does
\nnot consider Indonesia a junior partner.<\/p>\n
So, here we see that foreign contacts, either through
\nmultilateral forums or bilateral mechanisms, are politically and
\nstrategically imperative if Indonesia is to be seen as proactive
\nin promoting and securing the country's national and
\ninternational interests.<\/p>\n
Thus, on a more global level, the government will not only
\nwitness the continual rise of market democracies due to the
\nglobalization process, bringing with it hopes of prosperity, but
\nalso new opportunities. But the government must realize that this
\npromising era is not risk-free. A host of modern threats, from
\nterrorism to people trafficking and arms smuggling, have also
\ngone global in that they ignore national borders and thus
\nundermine the well-being of our people and the country's
\nsecurity. It is for this reason that Indonesia must commit itself
\nto be continually part of the collaborative efforts at combating
\nsuch threats.<\/p>\n
Susilo must understand the nature of the changes that surround
\nus. He must acknowledge that in a rapidly changing and
\ninterdependent world, the separation of national and
\ninternational affairs is becoming blurred if not problematic. A
\nmore globalized world is bound to cause fragmentation on the one
\nhand and integration on the other, either on a national or an
\ninternational level.<\/p>\n
The writer is editor of The Indonesian Quarterly, published by
\nthe Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is
\nalso a lecturer in the International Relations Post Graduate
\nStudies Program, School of Social and Political Science,
\nUniversity of Indonesia, Jakarta. He can be contacted at
\nbandoro@csis.or.id.<\/p>",
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