During the ASEAN Ministers Retreat on 7 February 2018, in order to contribute to the ecosystem of peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi proposed the development of a regional architecture in the Indo-Pacific region. The proposal is a further action of her annual press statement in January 2018 and part of Indonesia’s foreign policy priorities to strengthen ASEAN unity and fostering cooperation and the need to prioritize peace and democracy as well as respect to human rights in Southeast Asia.
The problem is, in the age of 50 of its existence, ASEAN become an organization who can boast economic growth to the highest level outside China and India. But when it comes to human rights, there are many things to note, such as the implementation of human rights in Myanmar.
In late August 2017 when the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state is becoming increasingly dire and complex. The problem, which was originally a domestic issue of Myanmar, eventually rose to a regional issue as more than half million Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since the Myanmar military began its violent crackdown in the region.
