Indonesian stability has been such an accepted phenomenon in the past thirty years that it has come to be taken for granted. It is, however, crucial to the region and to ASEAN.

After the abortive pro-communist coup of 30 September 1965, the new political forces headed by General Suharto moved quickly to seek regional reconciliation. Confrontation against Malaysia and Singapore was formally ended in 1966 and ASEAN was established in 1967. The birth of the regional grouping was above all an expression and a symbol of this reconciliation between regional neighbours. ASEAN has, of course, grown enormously in strength and influence since then.

A cursory look at the map would show the place Indonesia occupies in Southeast Asia, over nearly 50 degrees of longitude from west to east, by far the largest member of ASEAN both in land area and in population. But the size does not necessarily translate into commensurate influence in a regional organisation. On the contrary, size can arouse fears of domination among the smaller members, impeding rather than advancing regional cooperation.

How was it possible for ASEAN to build the level of intra-mural confidence that it now enjoys when one of its members was not only dominant in terms of size but had recently mounted a Confrontation policy against two of its neighbours?

The most important reason was that Indonesia, conscious of the burden of size and history, chose a low-key approach in its dealings with its ASEAN partners. It was able to show to them through word and practice that it had no wish to be a hegemon, that it valued consultations and consensus.

This was not a matter of tactical expediency. Indonesia was able to demonstrate to its ASEAN partners that it was willing to put on hold, for a long time to come, its regional ambitions for the sake of regional harmony and its own economic development. This self-denial was based on calculations of enlightened self-interest: influence commensurate with size would come naturally with economic success, within the frame-work of international rules and norms, and through acceptance of Indonesia's role by regional neighbours.