Indonesian foreign policy is in total disarray<\/p>\n
It is hard to find a pattern in foreign policy nowadays,
\nwrites political analyst J. Soedjati Djiwandono.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Shortly after his election, President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid went on his first foreign tour to visit
\nprimarily the majority of Southeast Asian capitals.<\/p>\n
Soon, however, the President pondered the possibility of
\nforging an Asian triangular alliance with India and China. But
\nsuch a triangular alliance would only invite problems from the
\nstart because of the delicate relations between India and
\nPakistan, and between India and China.<\/p>\n
Then for a time there were signs that he was inclined toward
\norientation to the Middle East. What used to be designated as the
\n\"cornerstone\" of Indonesia's foreign policy seems to have been
\nabandoned. In fact, preoccupation with the prolonged
\nmultidimensional crisis in the country, foreign policy seems to
\nhave been put on the back burner.<\/p>\n
Indeed, it is unfashionable and perhaps controversial nowadays
\nto talk about Soeharto's rule in a favorable light. However, if
\nthere was any success in Soeharto's policy, it was in the field
\nof foreign policy, particularly with respect to Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Soeharto was the man who brought an end to Sukarno's
\nadventurous confrontation policy against Malaysia. This finally
\nled to the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations (ASEAN).<\/p>\n
With or without Soeharto, Indonesia's strategic interest is
\nimmediately linked to that of its neighbors, not only in the
\nregion of ASEAN proper, but also Australia and Papua New Guinea.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been treated more or less first among equals
\nwithin ASEAN. Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore said publicly on
\noccasions that the regional stability of Southeast Asia was
\nprimarily due to the leadership of president Soeharto. This
\nexplained the concern among ASEAN leaders, notably Lee Kuan Yew
\nhimself, over the issue of leadership succession years before
\npresident Soeharto's resignation.<\/p>\n
Yet, the visit by Lee Kuan Yew to Malaysia earlier this year,
\nthe first in a decade, seems to have been of significance loss to
\nIndonesian leaders. Singapore will continue to depend on
\nMalaysia, perhaps now more than ever, particularly for a clean
\nwater supply.<\/p>\n
Did Lee Kuan Yew's visit signify that Indonesia was no longer
\nseen as the pivot of regional security in Southeast Asia, and no
\nlonger first among equals?<\/p>\n
Indeed, whoever happens to be president, Indonesia will be a
\nkey to regional stability. The region will not really care much
\nabout how democratic or undemocratic the leader in power might be
\nat any given moment, as long as the country is not perceived as a
\nsource of threat to regional security.<\/p>\n
President Sukarno probably managed to create the image of
\nnational unity in Indonesia and the impression that he was in
\nfull control of the country. But his personal and expansionist
\nambition as perceived by the region created fear of Indonesia
\nbeing a serious source of threat to regional peace.<\/p>\n
Now the whole world sees President Abdurrahman as the most
\ndemocratically elected leader in Indonesia since independence, at
\nleast by Indonesian standards with a fundamentally defective
\nconstitution. In times of trouble like now, when Indonesia may
\nbecome a source of threat to the security of its neighbors
\nbecause of possible spillovers of its domestic problems, it
\nshould turn above all to its neighbors and strengthen its
\nrelations and cooperation with them.<\/p>\n
Yet the present government does not seem to care much about
\nthe security concerns of our neighbors.<\/p>\n
There seems to be no direction in Indonesia's foreign policy
\nunder the current government, particularly with a foreign
\nminister of seemingly questionable competence.<\/p>\n
And with the President's growling at Singapore and its
\nleaders, particularly Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, the
\nPresident simply blew it all. That he did it while still in
\nSingapore, though within the Indonesian Embassy compound,
\nindicates his lack of discretion and statesmanship as president
\nof a big nation.<\/p>\n
Goh Chok Tong's suggestion on the use of English as the
\nofficial language for ASEAN is most sensible in the present
\nsystem of globalization. But Abdurrahman, or Gus Dur, saw the
\nproposal as a disregard of Indonesia. His alternative offer of
\nArabic stretches one's imagination too far.<\/p>\n
His impulsive remark on what he regarded as Singapore's
\ncontemptuous attitude toward the Malays is virtually racist and
\nclearly unfounded. Goh Chok Tong, the President argued, made
\nmention of Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand, but not Indonesia. But
\nthe President ignored the fact that Brunei and Malaysia are
\nMalay.<\/p>\n
His accusation of Singapore's manipulation of its neighbors
\nwas just an indication of envy, jealousy and an inferiority
\ncomplex. And his threat of joining Malaysia in controlling the
\nflow of clean water to Singapore was a joke, when even in Jakarta
\nthe government is incapable of providing clean drinking water for
\nits own population.<\/p>\n
Moreover, Singapore's apparent attention to relations with
\nJapan, China and South Korea, which irritated the President, was
\nonly appropriate since the summit was one of ASEAN+3, i.e. those
\nthree East Asian countries.<\/p>\n
Did not the President know what he was doing in Singapore?<\/p>\n
His suggestion of including East Timor (and Papua New Guinea)
\nin ASEAN did not seem to have been well-considered, and ignores
\nIndonesia's own bungling in the territory, whereas together with
\nPortugal, Australia and the United Nations, it should assist in
\npreparing the East Timorese for viable statehood.<\/p>\n
His criticism of Singapore's defense arrangement with
\nAustralia and New Zealand without consulting Indonesia only
\nindicated his disregard for its historical background.<\/p>\n
The President may well continue to be his own foreign
\nminister, especially now that day-to-day running of government
\nhas been entrusted to the Vice President. However, his foreign
\npolicy does not indicate a pattern, and the foreign minister
\nlooks more like his personal escort. Foreign policy is simply in
\ndisarray.<\/p>\n
During his foreign visits the President has focused his
\ndiplomacy on inviting foreign investment by assuring his hosts,
\nechoed by many Indonesian political and business leaders, that
\ndespite the crisis Indonesia remains promising for investment.<\/p>\n
It remains safe also for foreign tourists. In this age of
\nmodern information and communication technology, however, it is
\nnot that easy to convince foreigners of a picture of Alice in
\nWonderland out of crisis-stricken Indonesia, where even many of
\nits own citizens continue to live in uncertainty and fear.<\/p>\n
In the face of the threat of national disintegration, he has
\nalso appealed to his hosts for their continued respect for
\nIndonesia's integrity as a unitary state, refraining from
\nsupporting separatist movements simmering in some provinces.<\/p>\n
This has led to a new style of Indonesia's foreign policy
\ncharacterized by nationalistic jingoism aimed at rejecting
\n\"foreign interference\" in Indonesia's domestic affairs, a
\ndefensive mechanism and a sign of a lack of self-confidence.<\/p>\n
Indeed, respect for territorial integrity is an accepted
\nprinciple of normal relations among nations. But it does not
\nconcern the issue of whether a nation is a unitary or federal
\nstate, or even whether it should split into smaller states, as
\nlong as peace and stability continue to prevail with no violence
\nresulting in gross violations of human rights.<\/p>\n
These would be the kind of \"domestic affairs\" that are today
\nthe concern of humankind, and thus the international community,
\nwhich may well lead to \"humanitarian intervention\".<\/p>\n
The paradigm of world politics is changing. In the old days of
\nthe Cold War, security was understood primarily in terms of
\nstates. Intervention was thus understood primarily in military
\nterms. Now security is increasingly understood in human terms
\n(human security).<\/p>\n
Indonesia must enhance its credibility and respectability by
\nputting its own house in order. Foreign policy begins at home.<\/p>",
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