A former Indonesian foreign minister and diplomat Marty Natalegawa launched his book titled Does ASEAN Really Matter: A View from Within end of August 2018, in hopes the readers would be enlightened regarding the inside of ASEAN and how the regional organization actually works.
During the launch of his book, he also delivered his concern on Rohingya crisis saying that the international community seems to disregard the voice of ASEAN and it is proven by the fact that he himself hardly found any statement from ASEAN on Rohingya crisis.
In response to the absence of reaction that came from ASEAN, Marty showed his support to strengthen the effectiveness of ASEAN by collectively offering and suggesting unanimous solutions towards any issues happened in Southeast Asian nations.
“…Only by then we will be heard and be one of the valid references to international community and international actors”, he added, as cited from Alinea.id (31/08).
The title of the book that resembles a question, is actually derived from his personal perspective. Quoted from the Jakarta Post (03/09), observing how ASEAN has developed in 50 years, Marty noticed there are at least three issues that ASEAN has mattered.
The first issue is the tangible changes regarding how Southeast Asian countries maintain their relationship. During its first years of establishment, tensions and conflicts were just about everywhere in the region, making the relationship between Southeast Asian countries was based on a certain level of insecurity. While right now, trust among them is present. According to Marty, this affects the dynamics in maintaining the relationship with one another.
The second way, as stated by Marty and quoted from the same source, is concerning the fact that Southeast Asian countries have been taking on more active roles in global affairs.
Last but not least, Marty also conveyed, ASEAN also has experienced a shift from a state-centric entity to a people-centric entity, especially in the realm of economics.
By being aware of these three ways, he hopes that we can understand ASEAN’s main modality so that we can voice our opinions as a credible regional organization in accordance with ASEAN’s own method.