The Developmental Gap between the ASEAN Member Countries: The Perspective of Indonesia

This paper addresses the issue of developmental gaps in ASEAN from Indonesia's perspective by examining the extent to which industrialization in Indonesia have differed in comparison with other ASEAN countries, particularly in the last two decades. The discussion suggests that there has been an increasing gap in Indonesia's industrialization and that the country does not seem to have responded positively to the greater extent of production sharing in the Asian region. In addition to exposing gaps in industrialization, the paper also identifies the role Indonesia plays in the initiative to narrow the developmental gap between the ASEAN-6 and the CLMV countries. Evidence suggests that Indonesia's participation in projects enhancing economic development in the CLMV countries has been limited. There is certainly room for improvement, provided Indonesia is able to recover successfully from its many political and economic problems