Indonesia: Navigating a Challenging Future SYNOPSIS COMMENTARY The Myanmar Crisis

At a meeting held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in August 2022, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi sternly warned that “those who offend China will be punished.” The fact that China and the US are not averse to putting pressure on Southeast Asian countries to take sides is of concern to ASEAN, which from the time of its establishment during the Cold War has always sought to maint. [...] The Russia-Ukraine War The third security concern is the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war. [...] What has become the concern for many countries including Indonesia is the fact that the crisis is a proxy war between the US and its Western allies on the one hand and Russia on the other, potentially with China tagging along with the latter as it has its own rivalry with the US. [...] First, the Russia-Ukraine crisis points to the need to look more deeply into the nexus between the political-security and economic domains. [...] ASEAN is a vital cog in an important part of the world and will always be important for the stability and prosperity of the region.\ Third, for ASEAN, being able to handle its own internal crises would contribute positively to the organization’s aspiration to achieve centrality in its interactions with the major powers.