Maritime cooperation will be one of the priorities and will encourage practical and concrete cooperation between ASEAN and dialogue partner countries.

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesia recommends the establishment of the ASEAN Maritime Outlook (AMO) on the basis of the interest of increasing maritime cooperation with ASEAN partners, the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, said at the 25th ASEAN Political Security Council Meeting. in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday.

“Maritime cooperation must be the future that unites us and our partners, not separates us. We know the huge potential contribution of maritime cooperation to prosperity in the Indo-Pacific (region)," the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website quoted the foreign minister as saying.

Maritime issues are often only approached from a narrow security perspective, she said, adding that while the potential for maritime cooperation, especially in the Indo-Pacific region is huge, and therefore ASEAN includes maritime cooperation as one of the priorities for the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

Next year, Indonesia will hold the chairmanship of ASEAN, and the issue of maritime cooperation will be one of the priorities and will encourage practical and concrete cooperation between ASEAN and dialogue partner countries.

In addition to maritime issues, the Indonesian foreign minister at the meeting also emphasized the importance of a progressive vision on human rights, and invited ASEAN to mainstream human rights in the three pillars of ASEAN cooperation (the Political and Security Community Cooperation Pillar, the ASEAN Economic Community Pillar, and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Cooperation Pillar).

The minister suggested that the ASEAN Human Rights dialogue be conducted regularly and openly by including all stakeholders, and that ASEAN strengthen the mandate of the protection of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).

On the occasion, Indonesia was also represented by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Mohammad Mahfud MD, who raised the issue of people smuggling, the South China Sea, and dynamics in the region and the world.

The coordinating minister conveyed that the handling of these three issues should be carried out comprehensively through the ASEAN mechanism.

The 25th ASEAN Political Security Council meeting has listened to the ASEAN Secretariat's report on the progress of the implementation of the Political and Security Pillar Blueprint. To date, 290 of the 295 action lines have been completed in the Political and Security Pillar.

The meeting was held as part of preparations for the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits to see the implementation and potential synergies of cooperation in the ASEAN Political-Security Pillar.

Reporting by Indonesia Window