RI far from leading ASEAN: Analysts

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.