Indonesia asks US to enhance cooperation with ASEAN in Indo-Pacific

JAKARTA - Indonesia has asked the United States to enhance cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Indo-Pacific.

“We believe that the US will always support ASEAN's centrality and its position as the epicentrum of growth,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said at the ASEAN Foreign Post Ministerial Conference with the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, here.

According to Marsudi, ASEAN has this year started to mainstream the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). The bloc has expressed the hope that all ASEAN partners, including the US, will uphold strategic approaches in the form of inclusive collaboration and dialogue.

"And I believe that our meeting today will result in new commitments for concrete and further cooperation between ASEAN and the US, and at the same time, contributes peace and stability in the region," said Marsudi, who is serving as a coordinator for ASEAN-US cooperation.

She reaffirmed that the spirit of collaboration is the only way for ASEAN to build an inclusive regional architecture. The bloc has also welcomed all nations to join the interaction in the Indo-Pacific.

Through AOIP, Marsudi said, ASEAN is committed to pushing concrete cooperation that brings real benefits to society in four priority sectors—connectivity, maritime sector, sustainable development goals, and the economy.

"These are the same areas for the ASEAN-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Four fields that realize our shared interest and unite us," she added.

Marsudi said that the four areas could strengthen ASEAN-US relations in the Indo-Pacific, and thereby, increase confidence and trust. "That way, the US' support to implement this outlook is very important," she said, adding the achievement of peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific would be a win at the global level, not just regional.

"As ASEAN's Comprehensive Strategic Partner, the US has the key to realize this aspiration. ASEAN really needs the US to be a significant contributor in the Indo-Pacific," she said.

Security challenges

Marsudi also invited ASEAN and its partners to be responsive in tackling security challenges in the region.

At the 30th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) here, Marsudi highlighted that the sharpening rivalry between powerful countries has loomed over the Asia-Pacific region. Security-related challenges have also become harder to tackle owing to non-traditional security threats, such as terrorism, human trafficking, and maritime piracy, she pointed out.

"This complexity requires us to better manage potential conflict," the minister emphasized, hence, she urged the ARF to act as a vehicle for boosting peace and preventing any potential conflict from arising in the region.

Marsudi said she looked forward to an interactive discussion to devise concrete preventive diplomacy measures for the ARF. Preventive diplomacy is one of the ARF measures in maintaining regional security. It was agreed that preventive diplomacy is a “consensual diplomatic and political action taken by sovereign states with the consent of all directly involved parties to help prevent disputes and conflicts."

"We must turn trust deficit into strategic trust by continuing to promote norms of self-restraint and the non-use of force," Marsudi said.

The ARF has 28 member states, comprising 10 ASEAN member states and Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, North Korea, the European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, the United States, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste.

Moreover, Marsudi emphasized that the cooperation framework should bring real benefits to the people. "That is why Indonesia keeps pushing for complete implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)," she said, adding not only does the AOIP have an economic impact, but it also provides a strategic habit of cooperation in the current geopolitical settings.

Indonesia, during its chairmanship of the ASEAN, aims to strengthen the bloc's capacity and institutional effectiveness to be able to respond to challenges of the next two decades. (ANTARA)