INDONESIA'S ROLE IN ASEAN

Indonesia has long been said to be the ‘natural born leader’ or ‘first among equals’ or ‘primus inter pares’ within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) dating back to the establishment of ASEAN in 1967.

- Dr Arenla

The termination of the konfrontasi (confrontation) and Indonesia’s acceptance of ASEAN membership were essential to the organization’s formation. In turn, this helped President Suharto achieve his objective of portraying Indonesia as a friendly neighbour. Although the 1997–1998 East Asian Financial Crisis and the subsequent fall of President Suharto’s New Order government caused Indonesia to become somewhat reclusive, the consolidation of stability, economic growth, and democratic ideals saw Indonesia re-emerge as an active leader in ASEAN. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) (2004-2014) and Joko Widodo (2014– present) implemented a variety of modern foreign policies that restored Indonesia to its key position in ASEAN.

Geographica l ly, Indones ia represents a vast archipelago stretching over 5,350 square kilometres from its Eastern and Western points, while encompassing 17,508 islands (6,000 of which are inhabited). Moreover, Indonesia’s surface area comprises 1.9 million square kilometres, or over 42 percent of the total land mass covered by the ASEAN states.1

Out of the 655 million population of ASEAN, Indonesia has the highest number of inhabitants so far. About a third of all people in the ASEAN live in Indonesia which is the world’s fourth most populous nation and tenth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity.2 The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Indonesia was worth 1186.09 billion US dollars in 2021, according to official data from the World Bank. The GDP value of Indonesia represents 0.08 percent of the world economy.3

Considered the de facto leader of the ASEAN based on historical assumptions, the ascent of Indonesia as a global leader in the post-Cold war era and its role in regional and global peace and security is paramount.