JAKARTA, Feb 23 (NNN-Bernama) — Competition in the Indo-Pacific is inevitable and even welcome, but all countries must avoid such competition from becoming an open conflict, says Indonesia’s top diplomat.\
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi exchanged the views at a Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific meeting in Paris on Tuesday, which aims to showcase the European Union initiative for the region.
According to Retno, for Indonesia, the region is a sea of opportunities, and it is too large for any single country to dominate.
“We must respect international law. Peace, stability, and predictability must remain the centrepiece of our region,” she said in a statement.
Besides security issues, all countries must pursue concrete cooperation on maritime domain, sustainability and green transitions, trade and investment, connectivity and sustainable development goals.
“This will deepen our partnership, build confidence, and in turn reduce security risk,” Retno said.
The Indo-Pacific is home to 60 per cent of the global population and due to the major economic and geostrategic interests at stake in the region, many countries have planned their own Indo-Pacific initiatives.
Therefore, Retno stressed that it is important to develop positive paradigm and promote synergy among the region’s initiatives.
“Let’s change the logic of interaction among countries from zero-sum game into win-win cooperation, rivalries into dialogue and cooperation, trust deficit into strategic trust.
“Common security, common stability and common prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region must be a public good. This can only be achieved through strategic collaboration,” she wrote on her official Twitter account today.
