As the country with the largest population in Southeast Asia, Indonesia has a very important role in the development of the ASEAN. Indonesia, as one of the five founding countries of ASEAN in 1967, has played a key role in shaping the vision, direction and goals of ASEAN, as well as in promoting regional integration, security and stability in the Southeast Asian region.
One of Indonesia's important roles in ASEAN is as a leader in formulating various policies and strategies to achieve organizational goals. Over the years, Indonesia has played an active role in strengthening coordination and consolidation among ASEAN member countries, including in the matter of foreign policy, trade, investment and defense.
In addition, Indonesia is also known as a country that is active in promoting peace and stability in the Southeast Asian region. One of them, Indonesia has played an important role in resolving the conflict between Myanmar and Bangladesh regarding Rohingya refugees. Indonesia is also strengthening cooperation with ASEAN member countries in terms of handling security issues such as terrorism, piracy, and transnational crimes.
Indonesia also has a great influence in increasing economic integration in ASEAN. Indonesia has the fourth largest economy in ASEAN and is one of the largest producers of consumer goods and raw materials in the region. As a member of ASEAN, Indonesia plays an important role in shaping policies that support free trade and investment in the region. This can be seen from Indonesia's role in completing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiation, which is the largest free trade agreement in the world involving ASEAN and several trading partners such as China, Japan and South Korea.
In addition, Indonesia also plays an important role in protecting the environment and sustainability in the ASEAN region. Indonesia is a country with the second largest population in the world and has many vulnerabilities to climate change and environmental damage. For this reason, Indonesia plays an important role in promoting sustainability efforts in ASEAN, including through several programs: the ASEAN Framework on Disaster Management, the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, and the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity.
In its collaboration in the field of environment and disaster impact reduction or the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), Indonesia actively participates in ACB activities, including efforts to conserve endangered species such as the Sumatran orangutan and Javan tiger. ACB is headquartered in the Philippines and has become the coordinating center for biodiversity conservation in the ASEAN region.
A sustainable aspect that is also an important issue in the ASEAN region is the problem of air pollution and haze. Indonesia, as a major producer of smoke from forest and land fires (karhutla) in Southeast Asia, has played an important role in efforts to control transboundary haze. Indonesia has even signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution with Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines. This agreement aims to prevent and control forest and land fires in the ASEAN region.
In the field of education, Indonesia has an important role in increasing cooperation between ASEAN countries in terms of education and training. As one of the countries with the largest population in ASEAN, Indonesia has many universities and schools that can cooperate with neighboring countries to improve the quality of education and facilitate student exchanges. For example, Indonesia and Singapore have collaborated on various education and training programs, including in the vocational fields.
As a country located at the center of the ASEAN region, Indonesia plays an important role in coordinating cooperative efforts among ASEAN member countries. In its capacity as chair of ASEAN in 2023, Indonesia is expected to lead ASEAN in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region, as well as increasing ASEAN's role in solving global problems. (DA)
Reference:
Latar Belakang Berdirinya ASEAN dan Tujuannya. Accessed from Gramedia.com
5 Peran Indonesia dalam ASEAN. Kompas. Accessed from kompas.com
Masyarakat Ekonomi ASEAN 2015.Sjamsul Arifin, et al (Elex Media, 2015)
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