Indonesia`s theme for its chairmanship is "ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations".
"ASEAN must enhance its collective contribution, towards addressing various global issues. A positive contribution to the global community of nations," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said when speaking at the closing ceremony of the 17th ASEAN Summit in Ha Noi, Vietnam early November 2010.
Indonesia, since it assumed the ASEAN chairmanship on January 1, 2011, begins by holding five meetings in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, this month.
The Lombok meetings include the 8th Meeting of the ASEAN Senior Officials` Meeting Working Group on High Level Legal Experts` Group (HLEG)`s Remaining Legal Instruments (January 13-14, 2011); Meeting of the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representative (CPR) (January 14); ASEAN Senior Official Meeting (January 14-15); and Media Plus Workshop on "Indonesia and ASEAN Community 2015" (January 14-16).
The peak of the Lombok meetings will be the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting Retreat which is going to be held on January 15-17, 2010, and participated in by foreign ministers from 10 ASEAN member nations - Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, The Philippines, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Lao.
The retreat would discuss efforts that would be made by ASEAN towards the ASEAN Community by 2015 through three pillars of economy, politics and security as well as socio-culture, according to Sam Marentek, the foreign ministry`s deputy director for Media Facilitation recently.
During its one-year chairmanship period, Indonesia will also host among other things the 18th ASEAN Summit, the 19th ASEAN Summit, the Sixth East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Political Security Community (APSC) Council, ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Council, ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council, ASEAN Foreign Ministers` (AMM) Meeting, ASEAN Economic Ministers` Meeting, ASEAN Defense Ministers` Meeting, and ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crimes.
According to the foreign ministry`s and the ASEAN Secretariat`s agenda, the 18th ASEAN Summit will be held in Jakarta in May 2011, and the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali in October 2011.
The Sixth East Asia Summit (EAS) will likely be organized in October 2011.
The EAS has expanded from a 16- to an 18-country grouping, with the formal invitation to the Russian Federation and the United States, who seek to engage more closely with the region.
The inclusion of the US and Russia in the EAS was proposed by Indonesia in order to achieve a dynamic equilibrium, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa recently.
"Indonesia believes the East Asia Summit should be the main leaders` forum for discussion of strategic issues at both global and regional levels," the Indonesian foreign minister said recently.
The Sixth EAS will be participated in by the 10-nation ASEAN as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the USA, and Russia.
Indonesia is a founding father of the establishment of ASEAN marked by the signing of the Bangkok Declaration in 1967.
In 1976, when Indonesia chaired ASEAN, member states produced the Bali Concord I, which was based on the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC). It laid out the rules of the game for ASEAN and also for other powers that wanted to engage in any form of cooperation with ASEAN.
The signing and ratification of this treaty by Japan, China, and the United States further emphasized its importance to ASEAN as well as to the three nations.
In 2003, ASEAN produced the Bali Concord II, which initiated the ASEAN Economic Community.
Indonesia`s enthusiasm in putting ASEAN to a higher place in the regional architecture is reflected in three priorities set by Indonesia, namely making sure of ASEAN`s significant progress towards the formation of an ASEAN Community 2015; promoting the relations between ASEAN and other regions, particularly concerning the East Asia Summit (EAS); and developing an ASEAN common platform on global issues.
Minister Marty recently explained that an ASEAN common platform on global issues is crucial to achieve an ASEAN Community that contributes to the creation of world peace and security; that ensures the growth of a world economy that is strong, stable, open and balanced; and that serves as the vanguard for the promotion of democratic values, human rights and tolerance at the global level.
Underlying those three main priorities, Indonesia will continuously promote ASEAN to develop as a people-centered organization, according to the foreign minister.
"Indonesia`s main task as the ASEAN chairman is also to make sure that there will be significant progress in the issues of democracy and human rights," Minister Marty said at the handing over ceremony of the Committee chairmanship of ASEAN Permanent Representatives at the Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat on Wednesday (Jan 12, 2011).
The new ASEAN Committee chairman of permanent representatives is Indonesia`s Permanent Representative to ASEAN Ambassador I Gede Ngurah Swajaya.
Ambassador Swajaya recently stated that Indonesia was reemphasizing the role of the public in efforts to attain the objectives of an ASEAN Community.
"A people-centered ASEAN is the key to making the association relevant to the public and to the attainment of the objectives of an ASEAN Community," he said in Jakarta, on January 6, 2011.
Last December 2010, President Yudhoyono said the government would involve all national components in the organization of the ASEAN Summits in 2011 to make ASEAN community-based.
"The host for the ASEAN and East Asia Summit meetings is not only the government but all of us and all components of the nation," he said when opening the plenary cabinet meeting to discuss Indonesia`s preparations as host for the ASEAN Summit 2011 at his office here on Friday.
From the start he said the government would involve the younger generation, businesses and academics for the event.
Indonesia`s ASEAN chairmanship during 2011 was also hailed by several countries.
Brazil`s Ambassador to Indonesia Manuel Innocencio de Lacerda Santos said in Jakarta last December that Brazil was hoping the relations between the South East Asian region and Latin America would be significantly strengthened under Indonesia`s chairmanship.
The ambassador said the two regions must do more work to step up commercial interchanges, economic, scientific and technological cooperation.
Thai Ambassador to Indonesia Thanatip Upatising said his government hoped Indonesia as the ASEAN chairman, would take active roles in solving various world issues, such as acting as mediator in the Korean Peninsula conflict.
Meanwhile, East Timor`s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao expected his country to gain full membership in ASEAN during Indonesia`s presidency in 2011.
"It would be a cause for great satisfaction to all Timorese if our official request to join ASEAN is accepted during Indonesia`s presidency in 2011," Gusmao participants of the third Bali Democracy Forum in Bali late last year.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton early November 2010 said President Barack Obama would attend the 2011 Jakarta East Asia Summit, and the United States wanted to work closely with the EAS on its agenda and initiatives.
Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr Surin Pitsuwan as quoted on the ASEAN Secretariat`s official website, recently said he believed that Indonesia can take ASEAN to a greater height as the next ASEAN chairman in 2011.
"With her own profile in the international arena, her credentials and credibility as an active player of the developing world and emerging economies, a rightful member of the G-20, the largest Muslim country and the fourth most populous and fourth largest democracy, Indonesia can bring ASEAN along in its engagement with the world and bring ASEAN to a new height," said Dr Surin.
President Yudhoyono himself has stated that: "For Indonesia, ASEAN has always been - and will remain - a cornerstone of our foreign policy." (*)
Reporter: Fardah
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
