Indonesia to stay the course in South China Sea dispute

Speaking before the leaders during a working dinner held at the Sunnylands Estate in California, on Monday, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo emphasised the need for the region to maintain peace and stability.

Repeating Indonesia’s long-held stance in the dispute, Jokowi urged all countries to comply with international rules, avoid displays of power, effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the SCS and immediately draw up a code of conduct (COC).

“What’s important is that we are consistently pushing for peaceful settlement. We are not changing our course, and will remain consistent with what we’ve proposed before,” said Jokowi after the meeting.

The DOC was signed by all asean members and China in November, 2002, to establish mechanisms to prevent crisis and reduce tension amid the differing territorial claims to the SCS that have created dispute in the region.

Under the DOC, all parties are required to jointly draw up a COC as a more binding instrument about how to resolve and prevent the conflict from turning into a fully fledged war. However, progress is yet to be seen in the drafting of the COC.

Indonesia is not a claimant nation in the dispute but fellow asean members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are among those that have challenged China’s territorial claims in the SCS.

China’s assertiveness in the region, particularly in the SCS dispute, has worried the US and its allies Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, that believe it could negatively affect freedom of navigation, given the strategic location of the SCS.

While China has already created a military islet in the SCS to underpin its disputed territorial claims, the US has pledged more firepower for the region.

 Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, was quoted last month by Bloomberg as saying: “Everything that is new and cool that the United States is developing is going to the Asia Pacific.”

In his address, Obama assured asean leaders that the US would maintain its presence in the region to ensure the safety of commercial vessels.

“Here at this summit, we can advance our shared vision of a regional order, where international rules and norms, including freedom of navigation, are upheld and where disputes are resolved through peaceful, legal means,” Obama said at the summit, that was themed: On Regional Strategic Outlook.

“Together we can also continue to increase our security cooperation to meet shared challenges. In recent years, the United States has increased our maritime security assistance to our allies and partners in the region, including our mutual capabilities to protect lawful commerce in the response to humanitarian crisis.”

The two-day summit, held in the last year of Obama’s presidency, is aimed at sharpening the US 2012 Asia pivot policy amid the already profound influence of China in the region.

Although Indonesia has remained neutral in the dispute, attempts from the US, Japan and their allies to push the natural leader of asean to play a more active role in the dispute and to counter any support for China have heightened in recent years.

While Jokowi insisted that Indonesia, as non-claimant state, would contribute to ensuring peace and stability in the region, analysts have suggested it might be hard for Southeast Asia’s biggest economy to serve as an honest broker in the row.

Relations between Jakarta and Beijing are at an all-time high after China pledged to fund around 30 percent of Indonesia’s much-needed infrastructure development.

Aside from the SCS issue, Jokowi also took the time to remind asean leaders about their support for the independence of Palestine.

Indonesia is set to host the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit on March 6, with Palestine at the top of the agenda.

The world’s most populous Muslim-majority country has been chosen as the host of the extraordinary summit to rally support from the entire OIC community for resolving the Palestinian issue.

“I would like to encourage asean and US to continue their contribution for the settlement of the Palestine issue,” said Jokowi.