SBY's summit diplomacy<\/p>\n
For much of this week and next, foreign affairs will take up
\nmost of the attention of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. This weekend,
\nour President will head to Santiago, Chile, for the Asia Pacific
\nEconomic Cooperation (APEC) summit with at least 20 other
\nleaders. And the following weekend, he will be in Vientiane,
\nLaos, for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
\nsummit, involving all 10 members of the group plus East Asian
\neconomic giants China, Japan and South Korea.<\/p>\n
We may recall that in the week before he took up the
\npresidency, Susilo said he would devote his time and energy in
\nhis first 100 days on pressing domestic problems. Unlike his two
\npredecessors who wasted no time in making foreign visits soon
\nafter their appointments, Susilo said he would not be making such
\ntrips until the first 100-day period is over. He has already
\nruled out making the customary tour of ASEAN capitals expected of
\nnew leaders of member countries, or any working visits to other
\ncountries for that matter, until then.<\/p>\n
There are of course exceptions to this rule of \"no foreign
\ntrip\" promise.<\/p>\n
As leader of the country with the largest Muslim population,
\nhe had to represent Indonesia at the funeral of Palestinian
\nleader Yasser Arafat in Cairo last week, which marked Susilo's
\nfirst trip overseas since he took office on Oct. 20. And the
\nsummits in Santiago and Vientiane, and the chance to meet with
\nother leaders there, are simply opportunities too precious for
\nIndonesia's newly elected president to pass up.<\/p>\n
Will his preoccupation with international affairs for the next
\nseven days or so come at the expense of his domestic agenda? Is
\nforeign policy, or foreign affairs, really that important that he
\nhas to take time off from home on two consecutive weekends?<\/p>\n
His two predecessors, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Abdurrahman
\nWahid, were criticized for producing very little out of their
\nforeign sojourns that they came to be seen as extravagant and a
\nhuge drain on state money during the economic crisis. No doubt
\nPresident Susilo, who will spend the next two weekends abroad,
\nwill face such questions too, all the more so given his promise
\nto devote his time to domestic issues in his first 100 days.<\/p>\n
There are many good reasons why President Susilo should attend
\nthese two summits. He, or his aides, needs to explain to the
\npublic that he can get a lot of mileage out of the summits in
\nIndonesia's national interests -- yes, for domestic issues too --
\nif he plays his cards right at these two events. One thing that
\npast administrations have consistently failed to do is explain
\nthe relevance of foreign affairs -- including the attendance of
\nour leaders at summits and conferences -- to the larger national
\ninterest.<\/p>\n
The APEC summit, for example, will discuss the promotion of
\nfree trade in this huge region, explore ways to restart trade
\nnegotiations at the World Trade Organization, and enhance trade
\nsecurity in this era of global terror. The ASEAN summit will push
\nfurther the idea of establishing an ASEAN community by 2020.
\nThese are issues important to the nation's present and future
\nexistence, and Indonesia needs to be involved in all these
\nprocesses, whatever conditions prevail at home.<\/p>\n
The presence of leaders at these forums are important to make
\nthe connection with national interests, for, as Jan Melissen
\nwrote in Summit Diplomacy Coming of Age \"(the leaders) are people
\nreaders rather than paper readers, and therefore place more faith
\nin their own direct personal impressions than in traditional,
\nwritten forms of diplomatic communications\".<\/p>\n
The two summits are also rare occasions for President Susilo
\nto meet with some of the leaders individually to discuss issues
\nthat are more bilateral in nature. Making his debut on the global
\nstage, it is also important that he establish personal rapport
\nwith some of them. Undoubtedly, one of the most important
\nmeetings that he will have in Santiago, assuming one is planned,
\nis the one with George W. Bush, who just won the U.S.
\npresidential election to serve for four more years.<\/p>\n
For President Susilo, this will also be an opportunity to
\nestablish his credentials among his foreign peers as the new
\nleader of the world's third largest democracy which also has the
\nworld's largest Muslim population.<\/p>\n
Following the general and presidential elections this year,
\nIndonesia should now be able to speak with greater authority when
\naddressing issues like democracy and religious tolerance. This is
\nin keeping with the constitutional mandate that Indonesia plays
\nan active and independent role in promoting global peace and
\nprosperity. Indonesia's sheer population size dictates that we
\nshould be more active in determining the course of global
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
Finally, Susilo's attendance at these two summits will be an
\nopportunity to familiarize himself with the strong-but-sometimes-
\nnot-obvious links between global affairs and Indonesia's national
\ninterests, and thus ultimately his own domestic agenda.<\/p>\n
Beyond the feel-good diplomacy and photo-ops that these
\nsummits have come to be characterized by the media in general,
\nthere are many tangible as well as intangible benefits to be
\ngained by the President himself, and by the nation.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sbys-summit-diplomacy-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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