Productive Marcos-Widodo talks affirm enduring strong links between Indonesia, PH

Indonesia has long been the Philippines’ steadfast ally and neighbor. The two countries were co-founders – along with Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand – of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1965 that was preceded in 1963 by the formation of Maphilindo, a tripartite alliance of Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, the countries that comprise the Malay Archipelago.

In November this year, the Philippines and Indonesia will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the two countries’ enduring bilateral relationship.

The visit this week of Indonesian President Joko Widodo has been preceded by his numerous interactions with President Ferdinand R, Marcos, Jr. who opted to visit Indonesia in his first overseas diplomatic initiative since his election in mid-2022. It comes at the concluding phase of President Widodo’s tenure, as he is scheduled to leave office in October this year after serving two successive terms.

In 2014, both countries forged an agreement defining the boundaries of their huge, overlapping exclusive economic zones that run across the Mindanao Sea, the Celebes Sea, and sections of the Pacific Ocean. Both countries are strong advocates of the crafting of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea – a project that began in 2002 that continues to be an arduous work in progress.

Indonesia was also instrumental in paving pathways to forging a peace agreement in 1996 that ended the protracted strife waged by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and led ultimately to the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
With such an auspicious backdrop, the latest Philippine-Indonesian summit between Presidents Marcos and Widodo has affirmed the enduring strong links between the two neighboring countries.

At the end of their talks in Malacañang Palace, President Marcos highlighted that: “As founding members of the ASEAN and the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), the Philippines and Indonesia affirm the universality of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which sets out the legal framework that governs all activities in the oceans and seas.” President Widodo said, in turn: “Regarding our region, we agreed on strengthening ASEAN unity and centrality that is not merely a jargon and for ASEAN to continue upholding the principles of international law and become a positive force for peace, stability and prosperity.”

The two countries also agreed to carry on their cooperation in border security through joint patrols, as well as in beefing up the security and defense assets of the Philippines. This is in consonance with the renewal last year of the 1997 Agreement on Cooperative Activities in the Field of Defense and Security that covers joint and combined training activities, sharing of information and development of interoperability. In 2020, both countries also signed an agreement in Jakarta “for Indonesia to export aircraft and ships to the Philippines to boost the Philippines’ military capabilities.”

As President Widodo’s second term ends in October this year, President Marcos expressed optimism that his successor will continue to pursue the strengthening of ties that bind the two neighboring countries.