In the past year, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s foreign policy has been characterized primarily by the increasing use of economic diplomacy. The choice of economic diplomacy as a foreign policy instrument is timely and realistic because since 2008/2009 Indonesia has been working hard to consolidate its resilience against the remaining repercussions caused by the global financial crisis.
Indonesia has used this economic diplomacy not only to keep the country economically resilient, but also to create a new architecture of global financial systems through a joint effort of the G20 forum. Being an active member of the forum, Indonesia consistently pronounces the urgency of a balanced, fair, transparent and credible global financial system.
And in the G20 Summit this month in Seoul, Indonesia will not only continue to advocate such a pronouncement, but also will emphasize the issue of development, including financial inclusion, which is of paramount importance to developing countries.
Indonesia’s strong commitment to environment diplomacy continued in the past year. As an ardent advocate for the efforts to address climate change, Indonesia spares no effort to ensure that the implementation of the 2007 Bali Plan of Action on climate change stays the course. Indonesia’s continued environment diplomacy will remain needed to assure, in collaboration with other countries, the successful outcome of the forthcoming Cancun Conference.
In the political and security realm, Indonesia’s diplomacy has been dedicated to the development of a regional security architecture marked by a dynamic equilibrium among its parties. Indonesia has done its utmost to ensure the role of ASEAN as the driving force in the regional architecture building process; to ensure the centrality of ASEAN in the “plus one” and “plus three” processes as well as the ARF, EAS, APEC and ASEM.
On the Middle East issue, Indonesia has been firm and steadfast in its support for a comprehensive just, and lasting peace in the region. On the Israeli-Palestinian track, last month on the sidelines of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, Indonesia hosted the Four Country Initiative on Palestine. This is an important step in Indonesia’s contribution to the efforts in resolving the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
The Indonesian government has also continued to use peacekeeping operations as a foreign policy instrument, especially in fulfilling the constitutional mandate to keep international peace and order.
Indonesia has large contingents in UNIFIL (Lebanon), UNMIS (Sudan) and MONUC (Congo). In April 2010, Indonesia deployed a sigma class corvette “KRI Frans Kasiepo – 368” as part of UNIFIL Maritime Task Force. The presence of an Indonesian navy vessel in Lebanese waters has been very much appreciated by the international community, and marked a new chapter in the history of Indonesia’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations.
On the bilateral level, despite specific challenges that emerged to confront relations between Indonesia and Malaysia as well as between Indonesia and The Netherlands, Indonesia has generally gained a lot for its national development from various bilateral initiatives.
The President’s visit to several countries in the past year has resulted not only strengthened bilateral relations but also produced pledges of increased investment from the governments and private sectors of those partner countries.
Foreign policy establishment in Indonesia has developed in a positive direction in the past year. On foreign relations issues, the government has always listened to the people’s voices attentively while exerting firm and reasonable positions. The role of parliament in foreign policy has been respected, and the traditionally limited role of the vice president in foreign relations has been expanded by his participation in the US-initiated Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in April 2010, and in the recent US-ASEAN Summit in New York last month.
In the years ahead, there will be more room for Indonesia’s foreign policy activism. The chairmanship of Indonesia in ASEAN in 2011 will provide Indonesia with the opportunity to lead and to strive for the realization of the ASEAN Community. Indonesia came up with the idea five years ago, and now it is a chance through stewardship to ensure its realization for the common good of ASEAN as well as the global family of nations.
Some glitches over the year in Indonesia-Malaysia and Indonesia-Netherlands relations have taught us one very important lesson: There is no fit-for-all strategy in bilateral diplomacy. A strategy for bilateral diplomacy with Scandinavian countries would be different from that with Malaysia, Australia, The Netherlands and Timor Leste.
With the Netherlands, unless resolved once and for all, “history” will continue to affect Indonesia’s bilateral relations. Thus, in strategizing, bilateral diplomacy must be recalibrated. In its implementation, it will require consideration for the particularities of each partner country while maintaining long standing conventional practices.
Another important lesson is the need for greater foreign relations literacy among the Indonesian populace. There is a need for educational in Indonesian foreign policy to bridge the gap between the public’s expectations, which have often been seen to be influenced by emotion, such as in the case of Indonesia-Malaysia relations, and the government’s policies, which have been rational and abide by the principles of peacefully settling disputes.
An informed public will offer reasonable and constructive input, free from mockery and cynicism. It is a shared responsibility to educate the public — it is the responsibility of the government, the media, politicians, parliamentarians, foreign affairs experts, analysts and academicians.
It is also pertinent to recalibrate Law No. 37/1999 on Foreign Relations, which has been serving as a legal basis of Indonesia’s foreign policy. New realities have emerged at home and abroad since the Law took effect on Sept. 14, 1999. In the future, Indonesia’s foreign policy will need a legal basis that reflects those new developments.
A greater consideration should also be given to the dynamism in the Indian Ocean Rim and the revitalization of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Ocean’s strategic and historical value warrants serious thought on what role Indonesia can play in the sub-region. On the Non-Aligned Movement, the need for its revitalization remains strong. As one of the founding states, it is natural that Indonesia would be expected to play a leading role in rejuvenating the movement. In the future, with 118 member states, the movement will need a diverse leadership.
On the doctrinal level, the principle of bebas aktif (active but not aligned) has been consistently heeded, and I believe that it will remain so in the coming years.
The writer is an Indonesian diplomat. The opinions expressed are his personal thoughts.
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