History of IORA
IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association), previously known as IOR-ARC (Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation) is a regional cooperation organisation that was declared or inaugurated in San Mauritius in March 1997. In accordance with its founding charter, IORA has several main objectives, namely to develop mutually beneficial cooperation through a consensus approach based on the principles of equality, territorial integrity, non-intervention, political independence, and peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit.
IORA is arguably the only organisation comprising countries in the sub-regions of Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, the Southwest Pacific, and the East Coast of Africa. This can be seen from the 21 member countries that directly border the Indian Ocean such as Australia, Bangladesh, South Africa, India, Comoros, Indonesia, Iran, Madagascar, Malaysia, Kenya, Oman, Mauritius, Seychelles, Mozambique, Singapore, Somalia, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, IORA also has seven dialogue partners, namely China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Egypt, Japan and Germany.
The name change from "IOR-ARC" to IORA was formalised at the 13th ministerial meeting in Perth, Australia on 1 November 2013. The decision was considered an effort to increase public awareness of the existence of the IORA forum. The establishment of the Indian Ocean regional cooperation forum was originally born from a joint idea of South Africa, Australia and India. At the beginning of the 1990s, South Africa had just been released from political shackles.
On 29-31 March 1995, a meeting took place in San Mauritius attended by government representatives, business people and academics from South Africa, Australia, India. Kenya, Mauritius, Oman and Singapore to discuss the development of ideas for co-operation among the countries of the Indian Ocean Region. In the follow-up meeting that took place in mid-August 1995, the Core Member States (M-7) successfully formulated a charter for the establishment of a regional cooperation mechanism called the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) which was later called the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). Apart from the M-7 countries, the meeting was also attended by representatives from several countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Tanzania, Madagascar, and Mozambique (M-14).Â
Then, at the first Ministerial meeting in Mauritius on 6-7 March 1997, the M-7 countries successfully inaugurated the IOR-ARC charter which is the foundation of IORA as it is today. In its development, IORA continues to seek to expand and increase the intensity of cooperation among member states and utilise the role of Dialogue Partners.
The next ministerial meeting was held in Sana'a in August 2010 which resulted in several important achievements summarised in the Sana'a Communique. The Communique essentially agreed on how to establish the Maritime Transport Council (MTC). Amendments to the IORA charter as well as offering a number of flagship projects to IORA subsidiary institutions, Maritime Transport Council/MTC (maritime transport), Fisheries Support Unit/FSU (fisheries), Regional Centre for Science and Technology/RCSTT (science and technology), and University Mobility for Indian Ocean-Region/UMIOR (education).
At the 11th ministerial meeting in Bengaluru in November 2011, IORA identified six priority areas for cooperation, which include:
1. Maritime safety and security
2. Trade and investment facilitation
3. Fisheries management
4. Disaster risk management
5. Academic, science and technology co-operation
6. Tourism promotion and cultural exchange
History of Indonesia's Maritime Diplomacy
The concept of the World Maritime Axis has become a strategy and aspiration of the Indonesian nation, which began with the achievement of the "Djuanda Declaration". With the recognition on 10 December 1982 by UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea), Indonesia was able to gain sovereignty over its marine territory. And since then it has adopted the conception of the Archipelagic Nation. After 32 years, the concept has been reignited by President Jokowi's administration. Not only starting with the improvement of domestic maritime assets, President Jokowi showed his commitment on the international stage by showing his activeness in international forums, one of which is IORA. This activity is not only done without any specific purpose, but it is a medium that can support the realisation of the ideals of the World Maritime Axis. Indonesia's leadership as chair in IORA is a strategic momentum to realise Indonesia's national interests. Based on the continuity between the five pillars of the realisation of the World Maritime Axis initiated by President Jokowi and the six priorities of IORA, IORA has a strategic value that can have a positive impact and support in the realisation of the World Maritime Axis. This continuity is a way for Indonesia to get closer to its ideals. In channelling Indonesia's national interests in IORA, it is done through Maritime Diplomacy. Here, the type of diplomacy taken by President Jokowi's administration is more likely to use cooperative and persuasive maritime diplomacy. Where to achieve its interests, it is carried out through subtle or soft approaches, such as negotiations, negotiations, cooperation, and persuasion.
Since the beginning of the IORA formation process at the first ministerial meeting in 1995, Indonesia has expressed its commitment to join and play an active role in supporting the success of this organisation by participating in the August 1995 ministerial meeting in Mauritius which resulted in the charter of IORA. After the ratification of the establishment of IORA in 1997, the meetings held in the early years were still related to the process of building structures such as the secretariat and financial arrangements. The performance of IORA could only be felt and heard in public in 2011 where at that time India became the chair until 2013 and then the leadership of IORA was continued by Australia for the period 2013-2015. On 15 November 2011, Indonesia participated in the formation of the Bengaluru Communique in Bengaluru, India. Bengaluru Communique is an IORA document that became the beginning of 6 priority areas of IORA cooperation, namely maritime security, trade facilitation, fisheries management, disaster risk management, science and technology, and tourism and culture.
Indonesia also participated in the endorsement of the Gurgaon Communique at the 12th Meeting of the Council of Ministers in Gurgaon, India on 2 November 2012. The document contains steps to strengthen cooperation in the six priority areas previously formulated in the Bengaluru Communique. During Australia's chairmanship, Indonesia took part in the ratification of the IORA Declaration on the Principles for Peaceful, Productive and Sustainable Use of the Indian Ocean and its Resources, also known as the Perth Principles. The Perth Principles were adopted at the 13thMeeting of the Council of Ministers on 1 November 2013 in Perth, Australia. The document contains a commitment to the conservation and sustainable use of the Indian Ocean and its resources in accordance with international law, including fisheries stocks, water and seabed resources and other marine life, as well as a commitment to realise the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. At the 14th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association on 9 October 2014 in Perth, Australia, Indonesia participated in the adoption of the Perth Communiqué at this meeting (the Commonwealth of Australia, 2014). The document gave birth to cooperation in the field of gender empowerment, which is a programme of cross cutting issues to 6 existing sectors.
The year 2017 was a turning point for Indonesia where for the first time, the IORA Summit was held in Jakarta. The meeting between leaders of IORA member countries gave a strong signal for Indonesia to expand its influence in the IORA region. Previously, Indonesia was appointed as the chair of IORA for the 2015-2017 period after the position was previously held by Australia and India. President Jokowi in his remarks at the IORA Summit emphasised that the Indian Ocean has the potential to be the key to Indonesia's current maritime axis policy. "In Indonesia, we believe that the Indian Ocean is emerging as a key global axis in world af airs,". In his remarks, President Jokowi also emphasised that attention to the Indian Ocean is starting to increase. After all this time, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans dominated the maritime scope in the dynamics of international relations.
In its development, Indonesia's involvement in regionalism in the Pacific Region is more dominant than the Indian Ocean. Just like Indonesia's active involvement in ASEAN and APEC. However, it is time for Indonesia to emphasise its commitment to play a more active role in IORA. Not only because Indonesia is listed as an active member, but because the potential in the Indian Ocean in the next few decades is something that can benefit Indonesia in the future. As stated by Robert Kaplan, Indonesia and Malaysia have a strategic position with the Malacca Strait as the maritime heart of Asia. This strategic position is seen from how the Malacca Strait as an important point in world trade becomes a meeting point for shipping routes from the Red Sea and the Sea of Japan as well as a link between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
In international relations the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is the pioneer and only regional organisation in the Indian Ocean region. The Indian Ocean is a strategic water area especially for the world economy. The Indian Ocean acts as a hub for international trade routes from Asia to Europe and vice versa. The organisation aims to promote sustainable and balanced economic growth for all member countries and create a strong foundation for regional economic cooperation through trade facilitation efforts and removing trade barriers.
In conclusion, IORA and Indonesia's maritime diplomacy complement each other in promoting regional cooperation, optimising economic potential and maintaining security in the Indian Ocean region. Both initiatives reflect an awareness of the importance of collaboration between countries in facing challenges and capitalising on opportunities in the region.
My name is Vira Julia Asriani, I am a student majoring in international relations at Yogyakarta University of Technology with "B" accreditation and I am the class of 2022. The reason I study International Relations is because I love all things related to foreign countries. yups because at first I thought in International Relations only learn about how things are abroad and I really want to go abroad. but it was wrong. international relations does not only learn about one thing. But it turned out to be wrong, international relations does not only learn about one thing but many things ranging from economics, social, culture, politics of course, language and others. Until now I still enjoy this departement even though it is a little difficult. Oh yes, of course I have favourite courses and lecturers such as Indonesian political system, cyber diplomacy, and international economic theory. My favourite lecturers are all of them but I chose three namely Mr. Adi Wibawa S.IP, M.A, Mr. Muhammad Ridha Iswardhana S.IP, M.A, and Mrs. Hidayat Chusnul Chotimah S.I.A, M.A. Then in the next semester I will take a concentration on business diplomacy.
