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Economic and political crisis in Indonesia has had a marked impact on Indonesia's ability to participate fully in international affairs, including its relations with Southeast Asia and its participation within ASEAN. In the past, Indonesia has been described as the leader of ASEAN, and it can be shown that Indonesia has had a marked impact on the formation of, and developments within, ASEAN. The economic crisis, questions over Indonesia's political stability, forest fires, bilateral disputes between ASEAN's member states and so on have all taken their toll on ASEAN's cohesion. While ASEAN remains an important regional body, clearly Indonesia's leadership of the grouping has been tested and found wanting.
Introduction
This article will examine Indonesia's role within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the light of the ongoing political and economic crisis that has afflicted Indonesia. To examine the role Indonesia seeks to play in ASEAN, it is important to examine Indonesia's foreign policy context, including a brief history of its involvement with ASEAN. A more detailed account will then be given of recent developments within ASEAN, including the forest fire problem, the financial crisis, membership enlargement, and the emerging debate over the traditional "non-interference" principle. Some comment on the recent Sixth ASEAN Leaders Meeting in Hanoi is also necessary. The article will conclude with some commentary on the implications of recent political and economic problems for Indonesia's status and role within ASEAN, together with some cautious forecasting.
It is important to note that ASEAN's great success was to achieve security by preventing the Balkanization of Southeast Asia. Whether ASEAN can go beyond this achievement remains an open question. The recent currency crisis has had some profound implications for the Asian region. Indonesia has been affected greatly by political and economic crisis. Its capacity to play a role in the wider region has come into question following events surrounding the leadership succession in May 1998. This has come at a time when ASEAN is regarded by many observers as being irrelevant to the troubles in the region, of which Indonesia's crisis is a large factor.
While Indonesia's domestic problems have left it unable to lead ASEAN at present, Soeharto's departure has coincided with a series of open public criticisms by ASEAN leaders...