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D. Laksono: Address to Summit 2022, Session II
Written by Hon. Dave Laksono, Member of Parliament, Indonesia
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Address to Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference,
Seoul, Korea, August 11-15, 2022
First of all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity that is given to me today to give you a view from the perspective of the Indonesian Parliament toward the peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula. I certain hope this particular point of view will give us insights and become a future reference, not only for the peace efforts in Korea, but also throughout the world.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the efforts for a peace settlement between North and South Korea have been going on for 69 years. However, those efforts have not yet shown any comprehensive solution even though many parties have pursued and been involved in various strategies and proposals. The Korean Peninsula is a strategic area in the East Asia region. However, this region is steadily facing security and political problems due to the North Korean nuclear issue which brings concern to the surrounding countries. Political tensions also often occur in the Korean Peninsula region due to military maneuvers and exercises from North and South Korea. This tension on the Korean Peninsula has raised international concern as it has great implications for the regional stability. The unstable security situation on the Korean Peninsula in recent decades has the potential to lead to an open, armed conflict if peaceful efforts are not made to resolve the current situation.
Parliaments, as part of the international community and multi-track diplomacy efforts, must be able to take a role in supporting peace efforts in the region through parliamentary diplomacy. The security issue on the Korean Peninsula needs to be continuously pursued in order to achieve peace and reunification between North and South Korea. The current ongoing security situation on the Korean peninsula has not been resolved due to the absence of a peace agreement between North and South Korea. In this perspective, Indonesia, which currently holds the presidency of the G-20 countries, will further exercise the mandate of the 1945 Constitution to actively participate in the creation of world peace, particularly for the situation on the Korean Peninsula region.
The international community, including Indonesia, needs to continue to strive and give more effort to prevent much worse challenges in security tensions and create peace on the Korean Peninsula. Indonesia can further encourage various cooperation forums in the region to discuss more about the Korean Peninsula issues, especially through inter-parliamentary cooperation forums facilitated by the Indonesian House of Representatives. Hopefully, the voices of more countries in the world will be able to urge the warring parties to resume dialogue and avoid options that lead to open, armed conflict.
The strengthening of cooperation between the United States, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN, for example, can be seen as one concrete and realistic approach for the warring parties with the same goal, which is: toward the denuclearization and reunification of the Korean Peninsula. The response given by the North Korean government is rather similar to its response in the past: North Korea needs to maintain the survival of the country and seek a reunification process that will not harm the country’s interest. Various efforts for denuclearization and reunification of the two Koreas have repeatedly experienced many ups and downs. Nowadays, the international community still worries about the possibility of an open, armed conflict in the Korean Peninsula region. This situation must continue to be avoided and prevented because military pressure can only trigger a more exaggerated response and miscalculation from each party which will lead to the outbreak of war.
The dynamics on the Korean Peninsula must continue to be a concern for Indonesia, both for the government of Indonesia as well as the Indonesian House of Representatives. Indonesia needs to seek a breakthrough in finding opportunities and solutions to contribute to the creation of peace efforts and a denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula. Indonesia has the basic beneficial reputation as a country that has good relations with warring countries. In this case, Indonesia can broker communication in a good diplomatic manner both for North and South Korea. It is also necessary for Indonesia to continue to encourage both parties to promote peaceful dialogue and diplomacy.
Now Indonesia holds the presidency of the G-20 countries and is the host of the G-20 Summit which will be held on November 15-16, 2022 in Bali. I believe that this is a golden opportunity for Indonesia to continue to promote world peace as it is still very much fragile and seems far-fetched, including the achievement of permanent peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Ladies and gentlemen, the mandates of the 1945 Constitution call for Indonesia to be involved actively in creating world peace. These concrete and realistic steps are, among others, through the parliamentary cooperation at the International, Regional, and Unilateral levels in all dimensions of political, economic, social, educational and humanitarian cooperation. That is what Indonesia needs to continue to strive for, both at the government and parliamentary levels. May these good and noble efforts become a concrete and realistic step to create a long-lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, and especially for the reunification of the two Koreas.
I sincerely hope that world peace will be achieved in order to create a just and prosperous society. Greetings to all of you. Thank you for your attention.
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