Indonesia President Says ASEAN Should View AUKUS Security Pact as Partner

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, wearing traditional Baduy outfit, delivers his annual State of the Nation Address ahead of the country's Independence Day, at the parliament building in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Aug. 16, 2021. Achmad Ibrahim/Pool via Reuters

Indonesia’s president said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should view the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) pact as a partner instead of a competitor to ensure peace in Asia.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who holds the presidency of the 10-member regional bloc this year, said that ASEAN is “open and inclusive” by nature and will not serve as “a proxy” to any nation.

“ASEAN is the only regional organization that offers various forms of diplomacy. ASEAN’s principle is collaboration, cooperation, and active involvement,” he told Malaysian broadcaster Media Prima on May 8.

When asked about his plan to boost ASEAN’s role in the Indo-Pacific amid the emergence of AUKUS and the Quad—both excluded ASEAN nations—Widodo said ASEAN should view these groups as “partners” in ensuring stability in the region.

Widodo said they share the common goal of rejecting conflict in the Indo-Pacific and noted that ASEAN “does not want isolation” in international efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region.

“To me, we should view the Quad and AUKUS as partners and not competitors. With regard to anything that happens in this region, ASEAN’s aim is to make the region a stable and peaceful one,” he said.

“Without these two elements, it is unlikely for the people of ASEAN to achieve prosperity,” the Indonesian leader added.

The AUKUS pact, announced in September 2021, saw the United States and the United Kingdom commit to assisting Australia with acquiring nuclear-powered submarines—a move likely to shift the power balance in the Indo-Pacific region significantly.

U.S. President Joe Biden (C) participates in a trilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (R) and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L) during the AUKUS summit at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, Calif., on March 13, 2023. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

AUKUS is primarily viewed as a counterweight to Beijing’s ongoing aggression and militarization in the region, including building bases in the South China Sea, incursions into Taiwanese airspace, and support of illegal fishing fleets.

The Philippines’ foreign ministry said in March that it hoped the AUKUS pact could “reinforce an international rules-based order that underpins regional security and development” in the Indo-Pacific.

“For the Philippines, it is important that partnerships or arrangements in the Indo-Pacific region, such as AUKUS, support our pursuit of deeper regional cooperation and sustained economic vitality and resilience, which are essential to our national development and to the security of the region,” the ministry stated.

China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has strongly condemned the AUKUS pact, saying the arrangement is fueling military confrontation in the Asia-Pacific and is driven by Cold War thinking.

ASEAN Push for Stability in South China Sea

Widodo said that ASEAN member states seek all parties’ adherence to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) concerning territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

“All claims that have no basis should not take place,” the ASEAN’s chair said. “[The key is to] obey the international law. ASEAN will continue to push toward stability in the area.”

Beijing claims much of the South China Sea as its own territory under its so-called nine-dash line despite competing claims from neighboring countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei.

Indonesia is not a party to the dispute, but Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over the sea overlap Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone.

The Hague Tribunal ruled in favor of legal action taken by the Philippines in 2016. Still, the ruling did not see the CCP change its behavior, with Chinese vessels repeatedly intruding into the Philippines’ maritime zones.

Ray Powell, who leads Project Myoushu on the South China Sea at Stanford University, said on Monday that Chinese maritime militia boats approached an area where navies of India and ASEAN countries were taking part in drills in the South China Sea.

Such militias consist of commercial fishing boats, which coordinate with the Chinese authorities for political objectives in the South China Sea. Beijing, however, in the past rejected the existence of any such militia.

Daniel Y. Teng and Reuters contributed to this report.