Strengthening ASEAN
Strengthening ASEAN
Two days after President Megawati Soekarnoputri has returned
home from her first tour of ASEAN, observers and analysts, as
well as the common person-in-the-street in Jakarta, are still
wondering what benefits her trip will bring, both to Indonesia
and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
To be honest, many Indonesians may have doubts about the good
that spending public money on costly presidential trips could
have for the nation, given the current crisis conditions. This is
especially true, as the numerous overseas trips that her
immediate predecessor, former president Abdurrahman Wahid, made
during the brief 20 months that he was in office, are still fresh
in their minds.
As far as the public is concerned, possibly the only redeeming
factor in Megawati's case is that it is quite within the Asian
tradition for a newly installed head of government to pay
courtesy calls on his or her closest neighbors in order to get
acquainted. Yet, it would be reasonable to ask whether it is true
that Megawati's just-concluded ASEAN tour is a complete waste of
money.
In her talks on her first stop in Manila with Philippines
president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Indonesian President set
the general tone for her discussions with other leaders in the
region by pledging that in the years ahead Indonesia would work
closely with the governments of ASEAN, "to contribute to the
stability and well-being of ASEAN," and to "ensure that ASEAN
played an important role in the region and in international
forums such as APEC, ASEM and the WTO."
While in Manila, Megawati broached the subject of dealing with
terrorism, and reached an agreement with president Arroyo
regarding cooperation. This is an issue of the greatest concern
to Indonesia, and probably for other ASEAN member states as well,
where armed insurgency and the threat of terrorism exist or are
beginning to rear their ugly head.
In Thailand, Megawati reportedly surprised both Thai and
Indonesian officials by bringing up the arrest in May of two Thai
army personnel in Songkhla on charges of preparing to ship arms,
including grenades, ammunition and land mines, to insurgents in
Aceh.
Cross-border security issues such as closer intelligence
cooperation, gun-running and terrorism across the Straits of
Malacca, quite naturally received the President's special
attention in her talks with the leaders of Malaysia and
Singapore, the two ASEAN countries located closest to Aceh.
Given the emphasis that has been given in the press to these
issues, one might conclude that the President did not devote much
attention to Indonesia's burning economic issues. Aside from the
deal to import 500,000 tons of rice this year, concluded with
Vietnam, the presence of the three coordinating ministers plus
State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi during
Megawati's visit to Singapore, however, seems to refute this
view.
On the whole, it can be argued that under current
circumstances there is nothing wrong in putting the emphasis on
safeguarding the country against security threats. Apart from the
fact that none of the ASEAN countries, with the exception of
Singapore and possibly Malaysia, are currently in a position to
play a significant economic role in this part of the world,
economic growth and public security go hand-in-hand.
It could therefore be said that the greatest contribution that
Indonesia could make to ASEAN's strength would be by maintaining
order and security throughout this vast archipelagic state, as
well as by sustained economic growth. This, however, is a
reciprocal process. For Indonesia to become politically stable
and economically healthy, the country's internal security must be
ensured, which means that a conducive environment is needed.
In turn, a politically stable and economically healthy
Indonesia will have an invigorating effect on the region as a
whole. That is why it is in Indonesia's interests to see ASEAN
re-emerge as a strong and well-respected regional organization in
the world.