AMID a world currently embroiled in division and conflict, with the US vs China proxy wars, Ukraine vs Russia, developed vs developing, democracy vs autocracy, North vs South, etc. — exacerbated by the West’s weaponization of trade, technology, finance, and food supply — our Asean neighborhood offers the world not only a safe house but an “epicenter of growth.”

Most of our media did not give much credence to the Asean Summit’s focus on promoting and cultivating Asean’s role as a regional peacemaker, and instead most headlined President Marcos reiterating the South China Sea issue during his intervention, saying that the “dispute isn’t about USChina competition” and calling on “Asean to rally, take action over ‘dangerous use’ of coast guard, militia vessels in South China Sea.”

The West has long derided Asean as a mere “toothless talk shop,” negating the fact that Asean has proven one of the most peaceful and dynamic, and therefore successful, regionally diverse groupings in the world. And with over 600 million and relatively young populations, it has been able “to convene rival world powers in closed-door meetings that provide a chance for dialogue and manage to extract public commitments for peaceful resolution of disputes,” as Jim Gomez of the Associated Press reports.

Indeed, at the Asean Summit, Indonesian President Jokowi reminded his fellow leaders that “Asean has agreed to not be a proxy to any powers. Don’t turn our ship into an arena for rivalry that is destructive.”

In the 2023 Asean Chairman’s statement, the word “peace” appeared 50 times. More tellingly, the words “development” appeared almost a hundred times, “cooperation” over 70 times, and “progress and stability” together over 50 times. The words “rivalry,” “conflict” and “competition” together only appeared around a dozen times.

“We will be destroyed … if we are not able to manage differences,” Indonesia’s President Jokowi reminded his fellow leaders in front of the leaders of the US, China and Russia.

Readers will remember Indonesia inviting both Russia and Ukraine when Jakarta hosted the G20 in 2022, even amid Western pressure not to invite Putin. Jokowi was also the first Asean leader to visit Russia and Ukraine at the height of the conflict, “calling on world leaders to rediscover the spirit of multilateralism, the spirit of peace and cooperation. Only this spirit will allow us to achieve peace.”

Indonesia gains from independent foreign policy

Indonesia saw $43 billion in FDI in 2022, its highest in history, an increase of 44 percent from the previous year. (In contrast, in the same year, FDI in the Philippines shrank by 23 percent to $9.2 billion.) Even trade between Russia and Indonesia increased by 50 percent.

The 142-kilometer-long JakartaBandung high-speed railway in Indonesia was completed this year, the first in Southeast Asia. During the height of the pandemic, when the entire world was scouring for vaccine supplies, Indonesia successfully positioned itself to be a regional partner of China, securing hundreds of millions of doses for her citizens earlier. America, our ally, blocked Western vaccine delivery for months and only released substantial quantities after then-President Duterte withdrew his threat of terminating the military visiting forces agreement.

Our other Asean neighbors have also utilized China’s Belt and Road Initiative to spur their infrastructure developments, even while managing relations with the US, Europe, Japan, Russia, etc. The Laos-China rail, which opened in December 2021, is already ferrying over 10 million passengers a year, transforming Laos from a land-locked country into a land-linked nation. The 665-kilometer East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) railway link infrastructure project in Malaysia is underway.

In Myanmar, high-speed railways, highways and dams were launched in 2021, even amid domestic challenges. Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are also partnering with China in numerous ways, including the building of railways and highways. Hanoi completed its first metro rail with the help of China.

While Biden did not attend the Asean Summit, he took the time to visit Vietnam after the G20 Summit in India. While Biden said elevating the US-Vietnam relationship was not about China, Western media like the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, etc. headlined the visit as upgrading relations “to counter China.”

In contrast, Vietnam news agencies emphasize that the elevated partnership is “for peace, cooperation and sustainable development in the region and the world.”

In addition, Vietnam’s Communist Party chief stressed that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with America will be based on “the full respect for fundamental principles guiding the bilateral relationship, including respect for the UN Charter, international law, and each other’s political institution, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

In addition, during the Asean Summit, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a bilateral meeting with China’s Premier Li Qiang, where they agreed to enhance high-level visits to “promote bilateral cooperation in a more effective, substantial and profound manner.” Meanwhile, President Marcos Jr. had a meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss “the maritime security environment in the South China Sea.”

International Relations Analyst Sass Rogando Sasot also posted the stark contrast of how the news covered Canada’s treatment of the Philippines and Indonesia. Compare how ABS-CBN News headlines: “Trudeau invites Marcos to visit Canada in 2024,” while Bloomberg headlines, “Canada aims for trade deal with Indonesia in 2024…” Has our foreign policy become relegated to prioritizing foreign visits while our neighbors are rushing for more economic and trade benefits?

Why do some of our political leaders prefer to fast-track the installation of more American military bases instead of expanding our production capacity for rice, onions,... infrastructure facilities? Why are alternative, competent, productive viewpoints being restricted and wider discourse disallowed?

New Worlds by IDSI — for intelligent, progressive readers who want to see the world beyond the headlines (idsicenter@gmail.com).