Kicking off the country’s year chairing the regional bloc, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said late last month that ASEAN would continue contributing to the Indo-Pacific as a peaceful and stable region and maintaining regional economic growth.
“The issue of Myanmar will not be allowed to hold hostage the process of strengthening the ASEAN community development,” Marsudi said last month in outlining Indonesia’s foreign policy for the year. “Indonesia requests that access to all stakeholders be given to the ASEAN secretary-general,” Marsudi said last month, adding that ASEAN will also continue to collaborate with a United Nations special envoy to help Myanmar to exit the crisis.Randy Nandyatama, an international analyst from Gajah Mada University, recommends ASEAN under Indonesia’s chairmanship review ASEAN’s bedrock principles of non-interference in other members’ affairs and decisions by consensus.
The region has an opportunity to “maintain peace, stability, prosperity” if the majority of the membership would work collaboratively to ensure shared economic growth.