By: Dina Kahyang Putri )*
Indonesia is chair of ASEAN as well as hosting the 2023 ASEAN Summit. Indonesia’s chairmanship is fully supported by the international community, including Singapore. As a friendly country, Singapore is also proud of and supports Indonesia to become Chair of ASEAN. Bilateral relations have also become closer to the two countries and have resulted in better cooperation in the economic and political fields.
Indonesia will become Chair of ASEAN in 2023. This position is appreciated by the public because it can advance the economy, both in the ASEAN region and throughout Indonesia. The people hope that by becoming Chair of ASEAN, Indonesia’s financial situation will be even better after 3 years of being hit by a pandemic.
Indonesia’s chairmanship at the 2023 ASEAN Summit is fully supported by Singapore. President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that Singapore provided full support to Indonesia in the 2023 ASEAN Chair. President Jokowi stated that he expressed his appreciation for Singapore’s support for Indonesia’s Chair in ASEAN 2023. This was stated in a joint press conference with PM Lee Hsien Long in Singapore .
President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister (PM) Singapore Lee Hsien Loong met at the Leaders’ Retreat which took place at the Singapore Prime Minister’s Office. The meeting of the two heads of state took place warmly and President Jokowi showed that he deserved to be the head of state to become the Chair of ASEAN 2023, because he has the skills to communicate and negotiate.
President Jokowi continued, Indonesia’s chairmanship in ASEAN keeps ASEAN important and relevant to its people and the world and maintains ASEAN unity and centrality so that it remains the engine of regional peace and stability and Southeast Asia remains the center of economic growth.
When Indonesia becomes the Chair of ASEAN and is supported by Singapore, it is very good, because it shows the harmonious bilateral relations between the two countries. With the support from Singapore, there will be valuable inputs for Indonesia, especially in the economic field. Singapore has become one of the Asian tigers and Indonesia as a developing country can also become the next Asian tiger.
Support from Singapore is also very valuable because it will strengthen relations between the two countries, especially in the economic field. Singaporean businessmen will trust Indonesia and then inject their capital, then do business in this country for a long time. The arrival of investors is welcomed because it will increase the country’s foreign exchange and make Indonesia’s economy healthier.
Then, Singapore also supports the development of IKN Nusantara, in addition to supporting Indonesia’s chairmanship at the ASEAN Summit. With the help of PM Lee, IKN will be more perfect and become a modern capital city, which is no less clean and sophisticated than Singapore.
The ASEAN Summit is a Southeast Asian level conference that not only discusses the economic but also political fields. Even though they have different political views (because not all countries in Southeast Asia adhere to pure democracy), they still respect each other. The essence of the ASEAN Summit is to maintain peace in the political field and not cause divisions among members, let alone war.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stated that Singapore and Indonesia both regretted the lack of progress in implementing the ASEAN Five Consensus Points in Myanmar. Singapore will continue to work with Indonesia, ASEAN members and ASEAN partners such as the UN to push for the implementation of the Five Points of Consensus.
The Five Points of the ASEAN Consensus include: First, violence must stop immediately in Myanmar and all parties must exercise complete restraint. Second, a constructive dialogue between all relevant parties must begin immediately to find a peaceful solution for the interests of the people.
Third, the special envoy of the Chair of ASEAN will facilitate the mediation of the dialogue process, with the assistance of the Secretary General of ASEAN. Fourth, ASEAN will provide humanitarian assistance through the AHA Center (The ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management). Fifth, special envoys and delegations will visit Myanmar to meet with all relevant parties.
When the ASEAN Consensus is violated even though there was an agreement 2 years earlier (because it was made at the 2021 ASEAN Summit) it is very unfortunate. Indonesia and Singapore are working together so that the situation in Myanmar improves and there will be no more riots that harm civilians. Southeast Asia must be peaceful and there should be no wars between countries or internal conflicts.
PM Lee continued, Singapore will work closely with Indonesia and other ASEAN countries regarding the road map for Timor Leste’s membership in ASEAN. Singapore will help Timor Leste prepare the obligations and commitments that will be taken upon joining. So far, Timor Leste has not officially joined ASEAN even though its territory is in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia’s chairmanship at the 2023 ASEAN Summit is fully supported by Singapore. This support is very meaningful because Indonesia will receive support from an economic perspective, and increase the amount of investment in this country. Bilateral relations between the two countries are also getting better.
)* The author is a contributor to Persada Institute
