RI far from leading ASEAN: Analysts

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta

While it has made some headway in foreign policy, Indonesia still has a long way to go before it can regain its leadership role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), foreign policy observers say.

"We cannot claim right now ASEAN members really look up to us; we haven't seen a willingness from other member countries to accept our leadership," analyst Soedjati Djiwandono told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Indonesia, under the leadership of former president Soeharto, was considered one of the most influential members of the association but quickly lost much sway after his fall from power in May 1998.

In her state of the nation address on Monday, President Megawati Soekarnoputri said Indonesia was once again able to show leadership internationally.

"Our role in various bilateral and multilateral forums continues to improve and is increasingly widely accepted again," Megawati said before members of the House of Representatives.

"In ASEAN, which constitutes a priority area where we conduct foreign policy, Indonesia has once again been able to demonstrate its leadership," she said.

Indonesia, one of the founders of ASEAN, has pressed for the establishment of an ASEAN security body and economic and socio- cultural communities.

However, Soedjati said lingering problems between Indonesia and other member countries and their reluctance to accept Indonesia's ASEAN Security Community (ASC) concept proved such claims of leadership in the body were still far from the truth.

Thus far, Indonesia had yet to resolve matters of contention with its neighbors -- the illegal logging of Indonesian timber involving Malaysia, the extradition treaty issue with Singapore or the air pollution from open burning, which affected Malaysia and Singapore.

"Do we have (effective) leadership when we cannot settle these problems?," he said.

Bantarto Bandoro of the Centre of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said Indonesia's efforts to show leadership in ASEAN had yet to bear fruit.

"Many ideas and concepts such as the ASC are clear plans Indonesia is trying to promote... but we cannot yet claim to be successful," Bantarto told the Post.

Megawati said the Bali Concord II, agreed by ASEAN members during a summit in Bali last year, "has strengthened the role, commitment and leadership of Indonesia within ASEAN."

The concord proposes that ASEAN should work to build economic, security and cultural communities by 2020.

Bantarto said Indonesia's foreign policy efforts in ASEAN were appreciated but it remained a challenge for the country to regain respectability in the forum.

"Our efforts have been positive, but it will take time to see their positive results," Bantarto said.