AS THE presidency of Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono draws to a close, assessments of his two terms will come fast and furious. One dimension of the discussion will surely be Indonesian foreign policy.

Under Dr Yudhoyono, Indonesia has sought to fashion for itself a role of regional leadership.

This took the form of a string of regional initiatives, the most recent being the suggestion of an Indo-Pacific Treaty.

On May 16 last year, Indonesia’s dynamic Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa proposed the signing of an Indo-Pacific Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation during a keynote address at a conference in Washington, DC.

The minister had said: “I am of the view that we should be ready to work towards an Indo-Pacific-wide treaty of friendship and cooperation.

“A commitment by states in the region to build confidence, to solve disputes by peaceful means and to promote a concept of security that is all-encompassing. Underscoring that security is a common good.”

…The writer is professor of comparative and international politics and associate dean at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, and Lee Kuan Yew Chair in Southeast Asia Studies at the Brookings Institution in the United States.