The international world is currently facing a peace crisis following the war between Russia and Ukraine involving NATO led by the United States. In this way, tensions escalated between Russia and the United States and European countries.
Apart from that, now tensions between China and Taiwan are also getting sharper as it is known that Taiwan is also supported by the United States. On the other hand, tensions in the South China Sea have not subsided, in fact the trend is getting hotter involving several ASEAN countries which have interests in the South China Sea region.
Nevertheless, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) believes that, in the midst of widespread global conflict, ASEAN countries have the same commitment to making ASEAN an anchor for world peace and an example of tolerance and unity.
When opening the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, President Joko Widodo said that future challenges were increasingly difficult, resulting in major power struggles. However, President Jokowi emphasized that ASEAN agreed not to become a proxy for any power.
President Jokowi said, don’t make our ASEAN ship an arena for rivalry that destroys each other, but make this ASEAN ship a field to foster cooperation to create prosperity, stability and peace not only for the region but also the world.
President Jokowi’s statement certainly has a deep and true meaning so that there are no conflicts between ASEAN countries and does not want the ASEAN region to be used as an arena for conflict or war. With the message “ASEAN agrees not to become a proxy for any power” it becomes increasingly clear that ASEAN must be able to carry out its role as a regional group that has a commitment to world peace.
President Jokowi also believes that the ASEAN community will have an increasing spirit of diversity in order to create peace in the region and the world. According to him, ASEAN has shown evidence that ASEAN countries, including Indonesia as Chair of ASEAN in 2023, have succeeded in maintaining a strong tradition of tolerance. In the midst of cultural and religious diversity, Indonesia is able to continue to maintain harmony and manage diversity of ethnicity, tribe, culture, religion and belief.
ASEAN is an example of harmonious diversity where its members can complement each other so that they can realize ASEAN’s ideals. The President said ASEAN was formed with the determination to make Southeast Asia a peaceful, stable and prosperous region.
However, the President assessed that there are many challenges currently being faced by ASEAN. One of them is the global dynamics which are currently still in flux. The current global dynamics are not easy, the global economy has not fully recovered, and the rivalry is getting sharper. But I believe ASEAN is capable, as long as ASEAN is united. In this way, this momentum must be utilized to make ASEAN the future of the world. As the anchor of peace, stability, and prosperity of the world.
With strong togetherness and cooperation, ASEAN will undoubtedly become a counterbalance to world conflicts which have recently been getting sharper. Moreover, the current moment is right when Indonesia becomes the Chair of ASEAN.
As a solid regional organization, ASEAN has proven its ability to overcome differences and conflicts between member countries. With a diplomatic approach based on principles such as non-intervention, consensus and peaceful resolution, ASEAN has succeeded in preventing the escalation of conflicts in the region over the past few decades.
This success can be seen from a number of disputes that were successfully resolved through negotiation and dialogue, as well as the creation of various regional cooperation mechanisms that promote stability. It is not easy to make ASEAN an anchor of world peace. However, now is the time for ASEAN’s role to become more visible and play a role in creating international peace.
By utilizing diversity as a uniting resource and through active collaboration between nations, ASEAN has real potential to make a meaningful contribution in realizing a more peaceful and harmonious world.
