Jokowi’s Case for Indonesia’s Ocean Future

Jakarta Globe, Basten Gokkon, Dec 03, 2014

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago, with some 17,000 inhabited
islands. (Antara Photo/Zabur Karuru)

Jakarta. Despite taking on the job of president of Indonesia with minimal foreign policy experience and exposure to the maritime sector, President Joko Widodo has set his first landmark policy that gets people around the globe interested in the country he currently leads: his Global Maritime Fulcrum doctrine.

Joko put the spotlight on himself during his speech at the ninth East Asia Summit in Naypyidaw on Nov. 13, not merely because he gave a presentation equipped with a slide show, but also for the “global launch” of his maritime-based doctrine.

“Indonesia realizes that a substantial transformation is taking place in the 21st century. The center of gravity of the geo-economic and geopolitical world is shifting from West to East. Asian countries are on the rise,” Joko said during the presentation.

Joko added that the sea would play an increasingly important role in Indonesia’s future and that as a maritime country it must posit itself as a force in between two strategic oceans.

At a public forum in Jakarta on Tuesday, Vice President Kalla also stressed the necessity of Joko’s maritime-based doctrine, which would boost “the welfare of the country much better than before.”

“President Jokowi has declared how the maritime will be more useful for the country than before in relations to its functions as a facility as well as resources,” Kalla said. “For Indonesia, the sea is not to separate the island but unite the islands.

“That’s why, our ministers have been criticizing and giving strong comments particularly on how Indonesia’s sea or maritime can create a much better welfare for the country than before.

“Indonesia is a maritime country. The sea is our history. How the sea gives us welfare that will be implemented next in our government but the sea will be not only unity for Indonesia but the unity for Asian the region.”

The advisor explains

At a public forum on Tuesday, Rizal Sukma, a presidential advisor for the foreign policy sector, shared more details on what the president was aiming for with the doctrine which Rizal calls the country’s “agenda of development.”

Tuesday’s public forum, organized by the secretariat of the vice president in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), was also attended by Kalla, former foreign affairs minister Hassan Wirajuda, and Surakiart Sathirathai, the chairman of the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council (APRC).

“So basically what we want to do is to transform Indonesia into the fulcrum of the two seas, the two strategic oceans — the Pacific Ocean on the left and the Indian Ocean on the right,” Rizal said.

“The Global Maritime Fulcrum is basically the place upon which the burdens of the two seas rest.

“In Joko’s speech during [the East Asia] summit, he basically talked about two things.”

“Number one, when we talk about the maritime fulcrum, it means as a vision, as a doctrine and as agenda of development,” Rizal said.

“As an agenda of development, it has five pillars,” he said, adding that the five pillars in general included issues related to economy, security and development.

According to Rizal, the first pillar highlights that the Indonesian government “will strengthen and revisit and also bring back [the nation's] awareness as a maritime country and culture.”

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago, with some 17,000 inhabited islands.

The second pillar, Rizal said, the president emphasized the need to prioritize maritime infrastructure and maritime connectivity development by building sea tolls and deep-sea ports while also improving the shipping industry, logistics and maritime tourism.

The third pillar focuses on maritime resources and Joko wants to “put the fishermen as at the center of full supremacy,” according to Rizal who is also the executive director of Jakarta-based think-tank CSIS.

The fourth pillar, highlighting maritime diplomacy, Indonesia needs to “use [the country's] diplomatic instruments to force cooperation around the globe” by promoting regional cooperation to prevent the escalation of maritime conflicts, such as illegal fishing, violations of sovereignty, piracy and marine pollution.

The last pillar, Rizal said, is overseeing and maintaining the sovereignty and safety in the seas by developing Indonesia’s maritime defense.

Who’s who

Rizal, a main instigator of Joko’s maritime plans, currently serves as the executive director of the CSIS in Jakarta.

He is also one of young leaders of Muhammadiyah, serving as the head of the international relations division at the central executive board of Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim organization.

Additionally, he sits as a member of the board of governors of the implementing agency for the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF); a member of the regional editorial board for Australia-based Global Change, Peace and Security.

He is also a member of International editorial board for Studies in Asian Security, Stanford University Press and East West Center.

Rizal, who earned his PhD degree in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, was named one of 100 Global Thinkers by United States-based Foreign Policy magazine in 2009.

Further Coverage

Editorial: Jokowi’s Foreign Policy and Defense Wins