Should Megawati have stayed home?<\/p>\n
Umar Hadi, Diplomat, Jakarta<\/p>\n
While an editorial in The Jakarta Post on April 1 praised the
\nvisit of President Megawati Soekarnoputri to the Korean
\nPeninsula, the following day an article by J. Soedjati Djiwandono
\nin essence criticized Megawati's recent trip.<\/p>\n
But the question remains, whether the ongoing presidential
\nvisit to the four Asian countries, including Megawati's
\n\"mediating role\" in the Korean Peninsula, serves our national
\ninterests.<\/p>\n
There are many different opinions which can be divided into
\ntwo camps. One camp says that the visit will benefit our country,
\nincluding in economic terms.<\/p>\n
Others say that focusing on our economic recovery is much more
\nimportant than traveling abroad. In his article \"Foreign policy:
\nThink globally, act locally\", Soedjati eloquently elaborates the
\nline of thinking of the latter.<\/p>\n
We agree that, for the moment, the top priority of Indonesia's
\nnational interests should be economic recovery -- for which
\nIndonesia needs credibility in the eyes of foreign creditors and
\ninvestors. We also agree that, to regain credibility, the
\ngovernment must be able to restore domestic peace and stability
\nand to establish law and order.<\/p>\n
Hence, all the efforts of our foreign policy ought to be
\nfocused on the top priority i.e. economic recovery. Indeed, this
\nis one of the top priorities in the work program pursued by
\nMegawati's Cabinet.<\/p>\n
Another top priority is, of course, maintaining national unity
\nand territorial integrity. However, putting our house in order
\nshould not mean in any way neglecting the situation in our
\nneighborhood. From time to time, we need to visit our neighbors,
\nmake friends, explain what we are doing in our house and make
\nthem understand our situation and support our endeavors. And we
\nmay even ask for help, if they are friendly enough and if the
\nneighborhood is conducive enough to such friendly relations among
\nhouseholds.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, there are two basic premises that remain valid in
\nour foreign policy. First, regional stability is essential to our
\nnational stability. Second, we need institutional capacity
\nbuilding in our reform process and we know that some countries in
\nthe region have the experience and expertise to share with us;
\nsome even have the capacity to be our partners, both in new and
\nrenewed partnership, in promoting bilateral and regional economic
\ntransactions.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the President's visit to China, North Korea, South
\nKorea and India could be better understood in a more defined time
\nframe and context. In announcing her Cabinet in August 2001,
\nMegawati also declared the six points of her Cabinet's program
\nwhich includes the implementation of the free and active foreign
\npolicy. Hence, there is consistency in pursuing our foreign
\npolicy that serves our national interests and focuses on the real
\nand immediate problems. The program of work provides clear
\nobjectives that our foreign policy must strive to attain; most
\nnotably are national unity and territorial integrity and economic
\nrecovery.<\/p>\n
The President's first overseas trip was to the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, aimed at
\nreaffirming our commitment to ASEAN as the main pillar of our
\nforeign policy. Then she made a trip to the United States and
\nJapan, our two largest economic partners. And now, she visits the
\nfour Asian countries which are often termed as the main countries
\nin our \"second concentric circle\".<\/p>\n
The visits to China, South Korea, and India draw less comments
\nas those countries are important both in terms of regional
\nstability and bilateral relations. It is Megawati's trip to
\nPyongyang that has drawn many comments and, mostly for our
\nbenefit, brought the whole trip into the center of the world's
\nattention.<\/p>\n
The visit to Pyongyang is important to strengthen the
\nfriendship between Indonesia and North Korea as well as to
\ncontribute to the promotion of regional stability in East Asia.
\nFor the latter part, there have been messages from the countries
\ninvolved to be conveyed to North Korea, aimed at the resumption
\nof peace talks on the question of the Korean Peninsula.<\/p>\n
Now, whether Megawati's visit to North Korea is a success, the
\nanswer is \"yes\". She came there; she strengthened the long-
\nfriendship between the two countries; and she diplomatically
\ndelivered the important message with the expectation that it
\nwould contribute to a better situation in the region. Whether her
\nrole will influence the subsequent developments in the Korean
\nPeninsula, we will have to wait and see.<\/p>\n
In real diplomacy, nothing is \"cash and carry\". In this
\nregard, we should always bear in mind that credibility can also
\ncome from our deeds which are based on our strong conviction to
\nthe principle of free and active foreign policy.<\/p>\n
Lastly, despite all the debate, it is really encouraging to
\nsee that a vibrant public discourse on foreign policy is
\nbeginning to flourish. Hopefully it will contribute to the
\nemergence of a foreign policy community in Indonesia.<\/p>",
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