On February 20, 2017, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) signed Presidential Regulation no. 16 on the “Indonesian Ocean Policy (IOP)”. The document embodies a major narrative to develop Indonesia from its ocean. It is founded upon 6 principles, 7 policy pillars and 76 strategic policies ranging from marine and human resources strategy, maritime security policies, ocean governance matters, maritime economy paths and maritime diplomacy strategies. It is an integrated, comprehensive and coherent document that contains strategic vision, measurable policy outcomes and a concrete timeline.
It is interesting that Indonesia finally has a comprehensive documentt to steer all government agencies towards a single, unified direction: to realise the Global Maritime Fulcrum vision of President Jokowi to be a strong maritime nation. Interesting too, apparently in addition to domestic use, the IOP document also attracted the attention of the international community. Many seen the IOP document as a strategic document that projects Indonesia’s interest and adaptive strategy to adapt to and counteract strategies of various key players in the region. As Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the largest country in the region, it is crucial to observe and examine how this major narrative and strategic document will interact with and affect Indonesian and regional geopolitics.
