The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the Institute of Defence

www.rsis.edu.sg No.086– 22 October 2024 The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies of the S. [...] Vice President Ma’ruf’s statements at the ASEAN summits are thus to be taken as indicative of Indonesia’s foreign policy priorities at the brink of the country’s transition to the Prabowo Subianto administration and amid speculation over who the new president would select to head Indonesia’s foreign ministry, and the extent to which he would influence its direction and vigour. [...] He also emphasised the importance of government and business sector collaboration in ASEAN, highlighting the 8.3% decline in intra-ASEAN trade compared to the previous year. [...] On the South China Sea tensions, Ma’ruf emphasised dialogue and respect for international norms, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, as well as the Bali Principles. [...] Energy cooperation apart, with the Indonesian Ministry for Education, Culture, Research and Technology likely to be split to allow the Prabowo administration to manage his different goals at the levels of primary and secondary education, higher education, and research, Singapore may have opportunities to cooperate with its neighbour in ways that can uplift the quality of education across subjects.