Jokowi to Inaugurate ASEAN Summit Today

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The leaders of Southeast Asia countries will kick off the ASEAN Summit today, Tuesday, September 5, 2023, in Jakarta. The strengthening of long-term cooperation in the bloc and Myanmar issues will be discussed during the series of meetings.

The conference today will be divided into two sessions. The first session will be using the plenary format and the second a retreat format. Indonesia President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will inaugurate the conference.

ASEAN foreign ministers convened in Jakarta yesterday, September 3, 2023, agreeing to bring ASEAN Concord IV to the conference to be adopted by ASEAN leaders. ASEAN Concord IV is an initiative by Indonesia that will form the foundation of ASEAN Vision 2045.

"The challenges we face in the coming years will become bigger," said Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi while leading the ministerial meeting yesterday.

ASEAN Summit will agree on the acceleration of the decision-making process at times of crisis and bolstering ASEAN's capacity to face challenges. The ASEAN Vision 2045 will be adopted as a new guideline for the bloc starting 2025, initiated by A High-Level Task Force (HLTF) co-chaired by Indonesia and Malaysia.

In regards to Myanmar, ASEAN will review the implementation of the agreed five-point consensus. The consensus called for an immediate end to all violence, constructive dialogue among all parties, appointment of a special envoy of the ASEAN chair, humanitarian assistance, and a visit to Myanmar by the ASEAN special envoy.

During the ministerial meeting, Minister Retno admitted that ASEAN can only steam forward if it is able to ensure a solution to resolve the conflict in Myanmar. The bloc has prohibited the Myanmar junta from attending the summits without a concrete development in resolving the conflict. This year, no Myanmar representatives are present at the 43rd ASEAN Summit. 

Indonesia has carried out at least 145 meetings with all stakeholders in the Myanmar conflict, including the junta, the NUG, and ethnical groups. Indonesia also emphasized that the five-point consensus will remain the only reference for ASEAN to resolve the crisis.

Meanwhile, the international relations lecturer from Queensland University Ahmad Rizky Umar said when called by Tempo on Monday that the result from Indonesia's chairmanship in relation to Myanmar needs to be reviewed. "Whether [ASEAN] could form a resolution that surpasses the consensus or just repeating the current process," he said.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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