Indonesia tells outsiders not to use ASEAN as ‘proxy’

Indonesia told major powers not to use Southeast Asia as a ‘proxy’ for their rivalries Friday at the start of two-day talks between regional foreign ministers, while also calling for unity and progress on the Myanmar crisis.

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is the chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2023 and will later this year host the bloc’s annual leaders’ meetings, which are typically also joined by China and the United States. Disputes over the South China Sea have pitted some ASEAN members against Beijing and boosted sympathy for US opposition to China’s growing assertiveness, but others have shown support on issues in line with the Asian superpower.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo told ASEAN ministers in talks before Friday’s meeting that “ASEAN should not be a proxy for any party”, repeating a call he made at an ASEAN leaders’ summit in Cambodia last year, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said.