Indonesia president to skip Apec summit

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will not be attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ forum in Manila on Nov. 17 to 20. AP

JAKARTA—President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s contemplative nature and his reluctance to attend regular multilateral summits has been demonstrated once again following his decision to skip at least one annual meeting this month.

Sources at the Presidential Palace said on Wednesday said that although Jokowi might attend the upcoming G-20 Leaders Summit in Antalya, Turkey, on Nov. 15 to 16, he is likely to miss the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders Forum in Manila, Philippines, on Nov. 17 to 20.

He is also hesitating about whether or not to attend the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Nov. 20 to 22. Both the Philippines and Malaysia are members of Asean and his decision to forgo attendance could prove a diplomatic embarrassment to his two hosts.

Husain Abdullah, spokesperson for Vice President Jusuf Kalla, confirmed to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that Kalla had been assigned to fly to Manila to attend the Apec summit on behalf of the president.

“Vice President Kalla will be in Manila for the summit from Nov. 17 until Nov. 20,” he said.

Husain refused to specify the reasons behind Jokowi’s refusal to attend the prestigious conference and could not confirm whether Kalla would also be assigned to replace Jokowi at the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 21.

Ari Dwipayana, a member of the presidential communications team, confirmed Kalla’s presence at the Apec summit but assured those concerned that Jokowi would still attend the summit in Malaysia.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir also said that Jokowi was still on track to attend the East Asia summit. “All of the conferences are important but we’ll see what the president will decide,” he told the Post on Wednesday.

In April, Jokowi attended the 26th Asean Summit’s plenary session held in Kuala Lumpur but skipped the subsequent retreat on the island of Langkawi and later assigned Kalla as his representative at the event.

The next Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur is intended to showcase the 10-member bloc’s progress toward economic integration. The regional grouping will officially enter the Asean Economic Community in January next year.

The leaders will also meet with their counterparts from major neighbouring countries such as China, Japan and South Korea. The meeting will likely be overshadowed by overlapping territorial claims on the South China Sea. China claims ownership of most of the disputed area. Other claimants include Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam.

Separately, international relations expert Hikmahanto Juwana said on Wednesday that the president should carefully consider the gravity and importance of each event and hoped that Jokowi would at least make an appearance at the G-20 and the East Asia summits.

Hikmahanto emphasised the importance of attending the East Asia summits, noting that there was a requirement in the Asean Charter that high-level meetings like the East Asia Summit demanded the full attendance of decision-makers and heads-of-state.

“We hope that the president will attend at the head-of-state level. The motion [of the forum] would be different if he were to be represented by someone else. The foreign minister is allowed to participate but her presence won’t count [in decision-making],” he explained.

The University of Indonesia international law professor said that Jokowi should go to Kuala Lumpur because issues surrounding the South China Sea would not just be discussed at the regional level but would also include China and the US.

“Indonesia is now a regional and international player and so if the president doesn’t appear [on the international stage], our stature will suffer. Unless there is an urgent reason for not attending, the public will judge him for the worse,” he said. “Leadership needs to be reinforced by showing up.”

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