SBY's leadership for Indonesia and the world

Bantarto Bandoro, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government is only eights months old since its inception last October. The President himself realizes that as a national leader he needs to demonstrate to the public his ability to manage the country's national and international problems.

Although Susilo in his inauguration speech as the country's fifth president in October last year stated that he would concentrate on domestic problems, he cannot avoid seeing Indonesia as part of the international discourse, meaning that what he initiates domestically will certainly have some impact on the way the country conducts its international relations.

Thus it is important not to ignore the role of domestic factors in the execution of our foreign relations. Susilo pledged that he would continue to uphold the "free and active" principle of foreign policy, and is committed to make the voice of Indonesia increasingly heard internationally.

It is a fact that Indonesia is the world's fourth populous country and perceived to be the most influential in the region of Southeast Asia. It has more than 17,000 islands, spanning from the east of Malaysia to the western portion of the island of Papua New Guinea, and controls critical sea lanes thus making it a strategic regional state of Southeast Asia. The international community recognizes that Indonesia, under the leadership of Susilo, needs to initiate more national and regional policies to make the region safer and more stable.

The arrival of the Susilo government coincided with regional efforts to build a zone of peace and stability through the idea of the ASEAN Community. The government is witnessing that the region is only halfway toward building a strong, stable and integrated Asia Pacific community. It is thus important that the current government provides full diplomatic support towards the realization of such community.

Indonesia, however, should not see the world only from the perspective of its immediate region. Its vision of the world should go beyond its current status as the largest and most powerful Southeast Asian country, although Southeast Asia should continue to be the cornerstone of our foreign policy.

It is understandable therefore that Susilo has attended many important international meetings, such as APEC in Santiago, the ASEAN summit meeting in Laos, the ASEM meeting in Hanoi, in order to make the voice of Indonesia heard internationally and to announce its newness to the world.

In addition to his presence at these international forum, Susilo has made important foreign visits to, among others, to Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Timor Leste and China. To the surprise of many, Susilo was also seen at the funeral of Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, indicating the government's policy in supporting Palestinian independence.

The just finished Asian-African Summit here also reflects the importance of Indonesia as one of the vanguards of the Afro Asia movement. The country is also seeking a seat on the UN Security Council, a move that indicates its full support for UN reform.

This week there will also be meetings between our President and the leaders of two major powers, the United States and Japan. Jakarta is striving to reestablish good relations with Washington, while recognizing the fact that the U.S. is an important factor for the security and stability of the world. The Jakarta government, however, supports global sentiment that international issues be solved through multilateral frameworks.

If the Bush administration is able to reestablish ties with Jakarta, it will result, among other things, in more U.S. weaponry being sold to Indonesia, which can be used to patrol the country's critical sea lanes, and the reestablishment of IMET (International Military Education Training) programs. Indonesia's international diplomacy has even dragged China into its global policy framework by initiating a strategic partnership between the two countries, which is good anyway, as long as China does not consider Indonesia a junior partner.

So, here we see that foreign contacts, either through multilateral forums or bilateral mechanisms, are politically and strategically imperative if Indonesia is to be seen as proactive in promoting and securing the country's national and international interests.

Thus, on a more global level, the government will not only witness the continual rise of market democracies due to the globalization process, bringing with it hopes of prosperity, but also new opportunities. But the government must realize that this promising era is not risk-free. A host of modern threats, from terrorism to people trafficking and arms smuggling, have also gone global in that they ignore national borders and thus undermine the well-being of our people and the country's security. It is for this reason that Indonesia must commit itself to be continually part of the collaborative efforts at combating such threats.

Susilo must understand the nature of the changes that surround us. He must acknowledge that in a rapidly changing and interdependent world, the separation of national and international affairs is becoming blurred if not problematic. A more globalized world is bound to cause fragmentation on the one hand and integration on the other, either on a national or an international level.

The writer is editor of The Indonesian Quarterly, published by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also a lecturer in the International Relations Post Graduate Studies Program, School of Social and Political Science, University of Indonesia, Jakarta. He can be contacted at bandoro@csis.or.id.