Indonesia Awaits Official Statement on Joe Biden Absence at ASEAN Summit

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Foreign Ministry of Indonesia is currently waiting for the official statement on the absence of US President Joe Biden at the ASEAN Summit next month.

Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah refrained from responding to Joe Biden's potential absence when called on Thursday, August 10, 2023. 

However, Teuku emphasized that cooperation between ASEAN and its partners is mutually beneficial in nature. "(The cooperation) is as important to the state partners," said Faizasyah.

Reuters quoted from various sources that reported Biden's possibility of not attending the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on September 5-7, 2023. The absence of Biden at the summit will raise eyebrows about the US commitment to a region vital in its efforts to combat China's expanding influence.

One source close to the matter said Biden would not go to Indonesia, the host of this year's ASEAN Summit. Another source cited a Washington-based ambassador from an ASEAN member as saying that Indonesia had been informed on Monday that Biden would not be going.

Other sources cited White House officials as saying that Biden's attendance was "unlikely."

When asked if it was correct that Biden would not be going to Indonesia, a senior White House official told Reuters on Tuesday that there was no final decision. "We're still working on it ... we'll probably have more to say about it soon," the officer said.

White House spokespersons did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sources said Biden's schedule for Asia is not official until it has been announced and could change.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, said that they are still processing Biden's invitation to attend ASEAN Summit in September.

"Everything has been planned and prepared, and we hope that everything is at 100% in September," he said at ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.

One ASEAN senior diplomat quoted by Reuters referred to Indonesia having scheduled the ASEAN summits, normally held in November, for September, specifically to make it possible for Biden to attend and then go on to the G20.

Biden is due to attend a G20 summit in India on September 9-10, and said on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, that he plans to visit an important emerging Southeast Asian partner Vietnam "shortly" to boost relations.

The source said Biden is expected to send Vice President Kamala Harris in his place.

Previously, Biden already caused disappointment in the region when he canceled a would-have-been first visit by a serving U.S. president to Papua New Guinea in May 2023, and a subsequent planned visit to Australia because he was working to close a deal with lawmakers to resolve the US debt ceiling crisis.

Meanwhile, ASEAN members were unhappy when Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump skipped three years of regional summits. On the other hand, Barack Obama, Trump's predecessor, never failed to attend the US-ASEAN and East Asia Summit each year, except for in 2013 due to a governmental shutdown in the US.

DANIEL A. FAJRI | REUTERS

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