Jakarta should be ‘more active’ in foreign policy, say ex-ministers

President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (second left) and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi (right) attending the Asean leaders' summit at the bloc's secretariat building in Jakarta on April 24, 2021. - Reuters

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): Indonesia’s “independent and active” foreign policy doctrine is apparently not active enough, according to past foreign ministers and senior international relations experts, as they caution against the pitfalls of diplomacy ahead of the nation’s Group of Twenty (G20) presidency and Asean chairmanship.

The government on Tuesday (Sept 14) kicked off preparations for its G20 presidency beginning on Dec. 1 in a world of geopolitical and geoeconomic upheaval, punctuated by the existential crisis of Asean in Myanmar, the race to spur economic recovery from a deadly pandemic and the dilemma of facing a superpower rivalry in its own backyard.