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View all search resultsPrabowo’s ASEAN leadership moment
As regional powers gather in Manila, the upcoming ASEAN summit presents a high-stakes test for President Prabowo to silence his critics, reclaim Jakarta's traditional leadership mantle, and break the deadlock over the bloody crisis in Myanmar.
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(From left to right) Timor-Leste's Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas, Vietnam's Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Malaysia's Chief Secretary Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, Thailand's Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Philippines' Foreign Minister Maria Theresa Lazaro, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Brunei's Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Sugiono, Laos' Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane and Myanmar's Foreign Minister U Tin Maung Swe pose for a photo during an informal meeting with ASEAN Foreign Ministers in Bangkok, on July 12, 2026, in this handout photo released by Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (AFP/Thailand's Foreign Ministry/handout)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto must fully leverage next week’s ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila to demonstrate to the nation and the international community alike that his foreign policy is anchored in careful, well-calculated judgment rather than spontaneity and impulsiveness.
The President has repeatedly countered widespread criticism that his frequent overseas trips do little to alleviate Indonesia's domestic challenges, particularly a cooling economy and sluggish foreign investment inflows. While Prabowo has recently bowed to public pressure by pivoting his focus toward an urgent domestic agenda, Indonesia cannot afford to withdraw from its traditional geopolitical responsibilities.
Prabowo should follow the precedent set by his predecessors, who consistently exercised regional leadership. Indonesia remains, by virtue of its geography, population and economic weight, the natural figurehead of ASEAN. Yet, since assuming power in October 2024, Prabowo has appeared conspicuously disengaged from regional affairs.
The upcoming meetings in Manila present a timely opportunity for Foreign Minister Sugiono to respond to skeptics who argue his appointment was a byproduct of political loyalty as a close aide, rather than raw diplomatic capacity. To do so, Sugiono must deftly manage Indonesia’s high-stakes foreign policy objectives on the regional stage.
The President recently sent Sugiono to Myanmar to meet with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, who installed himself as the country’s president in April. Next week, Philippine Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro will host the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting alongside the ARF, a premier security dialogue drawing ministers from 27 countries to discuss pressing global developments.
This diplomatic push follows recent informal consultations in Bangkok, where ASEAN members pressed the junta's foreign minister, Tin Maung Swe, to implement the bloc's stalled Five-Point Consensus. The next day, ministers held unprecedented, separate talks with Myanmar's ethnic minority rebel groups.
The first and most vital task for Sugiono is to translate the President’s directive into a clearer, more actionable formula for Myanmar. We urge the minister to engage the media with greater confidence. Furthermore, he should set aside institutional ego and consult his seasoned predecessors, as well as former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, all of whom possess deep institutional memory regarding Myanmar.
