Events Around Asia Pacific Arjuna Putra Aldino1
[email protected]
Precisely in 1930, Bung Karno wrote a treatise surprising about the gravity of world politics. He wrote it in a newspaper published in Bandung with a pseudonym; Bima. He said, "That the Asia-Pacific region will be the center of his world, the war of the Pacific Ocean is the opening round of Independence Asia Raya. Later, the old continent of Europe just so sickly while Asia Pacific will grow like a comely girl who haunts every mind man ", sautnya. It's been a long time, the image of the beauty of Indonesia geographically culture also been illustrated by hand Raden Saleh was then called Mooi Indie, fine Indies. An image depicting the beautiful Indian country is rich in natural and cultural. The image that was subsequently sued by the artists left and nationalist, as an image of colonial positioning Indonesia as the object of view (tourist gaze), the object to be conquered colony and ditundukan below the Western view of the subject, the owner of the colonial power. But is it a matter of Asia Pacific and Indonesia is only a matter of ke'eksotik'an natural and cultural diversity alone? Why she had been a theater of World War II battles like what was said Bung Karno? And how is history now?
1
Students of Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia.
Organizations active in the National Movement. Contact Person: 087830312225
From the first, European sailors incentive to do a cruise in the circum-Pacific area. Some European countries competing for the colonies, which then were falling over each until one of the parties became the owner of most of the existing colonies. In the Asia Pacific region as well, the strength of the United Kingdom stretching from East Asia to India up along Commonwealth countries in Southeast Asia including Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Brunei to Australia to New Zaeland. Post-World War II, the United States and then replace the role of English in Asia Pacific that begins, not with weapons or ammunition but economic assistance programs Roosevelt's New Deal. Conducting bilateral relations and cooperation pacts to keep the loyalty of Commonwealth countries on the lines of American foreign policy. So naturally, if in 1940, Sutan Sjahrir said that the real Indonesia besieged by the forces of Anglo-Saxon imperialism. Where Indonesia is located within the sphere of influence of capitalism-imperialism of Anglo-Saxon (Anglo-American). For them, the position of Indonesia is very strategic because it is at the intersection of the world is located between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. The place where the world's traffic both sea and air live. If Toni Cartalucci said, "Turn off the Middle East, then you will turn off China and Russia". Alfred Mahan, United States marine experts that say, "He who ruled the Indian Ocean then he would hold the key to the international world politics". Dutch strategist Nicholas Spykman also viewed the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific as the key to dominance in Eurasia. Because inevitably, ocean shipping lines in Asia Pacific regarding the viability of various countries. The sea lane stretching from the Persian Gulf to the west toward Western Europe, and to the east toward East Asia and the United States. Regional location is a crossing point (crossroad) between the concentration of industry, technology and military in Northeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the oil resources of the Middle East, Australia and Southeast Pacific. And this makes the path of the Strait of
Malacca as the fastest route. So it is not surprising that Robert D. Kaplan called the Strait of Malacca as the heart of Maritime Asia, a door of the most vital in the world trade. Where he brought together the nodes of the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific. The position of Indonesia (Malacca Strait) is becoming increasingly critical, due to the fact that Asia Pacific countries are countries with high economic growth, the highest in the world even today, defeating the United States and Western Europe were attacked by a prolonged crisis. Nearly 70% of total world trade is currently underway among countries in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to have the most progressive economies in the world (CNN, 2010). At the end of 2010, the AsiaPacific sea lanes into the world's busiest sea lanes. And bustle in this line is expected to increase up to 3-fold in 2024 and 7-fold by the year 2083 (Rahakundini Bakrie in Sindo Daily, 2010). From the vast Indian Ocean, dozens of giant supertankers of oil wells in the Persian Gulf would be through checkpoints reconnaissance and network installations in the waterway toward Pusan, Yokohama, and now more and more to Shanghai. That total shipments of oil is three times greater than the Suez Canal and fifteen times larger than the Panama Canal (EIA data, 2008). For the first time since the beginning of the 16th century, the concentration of the global economy is no longer found in Europe, nor America, but in Asia. Robert. D Kaplan calls this shift as "the end of the Atlantic era". A fact that the world's center of economic activity since the end of the 20th century has experienced a shift shaft from the Atlantic to Asia-Pacific. And geopolitical constellation focus has shifted from Europe to Asia Pacific. And this fact confirms the analysis Bung Karno 85 years ago that Asia Pacific will grow like a comely girl who haunts every mind man. The gravity of the world economy today and the future is in Asia Pacific. And now Europe is still suffering
from a crisis that never recovered, like what Bung Karno said, later Europe just so old continent sickly. Maybe even today he is experiencing agony..
