The Significance of Indonesia’s Hosting of the Archipelago and Island States Forum

Photo credit: depositphotos. Retrieved from thediplomat.com

On October 10-11, Indonesia hosted a high-level meeting of the Archipelagic and Island States Forum, commonly known as the AIS Summit. After successfully hosting the G-20 and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits for two consecutive years, this recent meeting in Bali reflected Indonesia’s commitment to taking the lead in addressing issues related to archipelagic and island states. The previous AIS Summit was conducted in the same country in Manado, North Sulawesi four years ago. The following year, the scheduled meeting was postponed due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

As a global initiative, the AIS Summit is based not on its members’ size, region, or level of economic development but rather on their shared interests in addressing challenges regarding ocean resources, climate change, ocean pollution, and fisheries. Fifty-one nations were represented at last month’s meeting, 32 of which were represented at the ministerial level or above.

As the summit’s leading initiator, Indonesia has been known for contributing to initiatives related to maritime issues. Its foundational contribution was the 1957 Juanda Declaration, which set up global regulations on sea territory that were later adopted by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982. In 2017, Indonesia hosted the Indian Ocean Rim Association Summit, and in 2018 was a driving force behind the Manado Declaration, which gave birth to the AIS Forum.

Indonesia’s foreign policy stance, especially under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, is aligned with the summit’s objective. Jokowi stated during the forum that “as a maritime nation, Indonesia will continue to be at the forefront in supporting the AIS Forum as an inclusive cooperation for archipelagic and island states.”

This article aims to explore how significant the AIS Forum is to Indonesia and to the other members of the forum, and the forum’s possible future trajectory.