Foreign Minister Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi describes Indonesia’s diplomacy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a motherly style of diplomacy. Retno, 54, is the only female foreign minister among ASEAN’s 10 member nations and is often the one to initiate dialogue.

Last year, Retno urged her nine colleagues to first discuss and align stances before partaking in forums. She once again called for such an approach in th