Indonesia tells outsiders not to use ASEAN as ‘proxy’

• Indonesia warned global countries.
• Indonesia appealed for unity and progress on the Myanmar situation.
• Southeast Asia’s largest economy is the 2023 chair of the (ASEAN).

JAKARTA – At the start of a two-day meeting of regional foreign ministers, Indonesia warned global countries not to use Southeast Asia as a “proxy” for their rivalries, while simultaneously appealing for unity and progress on the Myanmar situation.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy is the 2023 chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and will host the bloc’s annual leaders’ meetings later this year, which are regularly attended by China and the United States.

Disputes over the South China Sea have divided some ASEAN members against Beijing and increased sympathy for US opposition to China’s growing assertiveness, but others have backed the Asian superpower on other matters.

President Joko Widodo urged ASEAN ministers

According to Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged ASEAN ministers in talks before Friday’s meeting that “ASEAN should not be a proxy for any party,” repeating a request he made during an ASEAN leaders’ conference in Cambodia last year.

Another topic that dominated discussions was the problem in Myanmar, which has been in upheaval since the army seized power in 2021.

The junta is still an ASEAN member, but it has been prevented from attending top-level summits due to a lack of progress on the bloc’s strategy to bring peace between the military and Myanmar’s anti-coup movement.

Myanmar’s foreign minister, Than Swe, was not present at the ASEAN discussions on Friday, owing to the bloc’s refusal to invite a junta member and instead preferring a “non-political representative” – an offer rejected by Naypyidaw.

There has been little progress on the “five-point accord” reached between ASEAN and the junta in April 2021, which called for an immediate cessation of violence and discussion between the military and insurgents.

But Widodo “emphasized that the five-point consensus of the ASEAN leaders should be the main agreement to assist the resolution of the problems in Myanmar”, Marsudi said.

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