Indonesia's year of diplomatic triumph loses a little of its gloss.

The G20 presidency in 2022 presented diplomatic and substantial challenges that threatened to blow the forum apart, or at least to semi-permanently incapacitate it. That Indonesia hosted a successful summit and passed leadership of the forum on to India in good working order was a diplomatic triumph for Indonesia's leadership and significantly elevated the country's standing on the global stage.

Despite its size and political weight - as the third-biggest democracy in the world, an emerging economy that is likely to be among the four biggest in the world within a few decades and its political leverage in Asia through ASEAN - few credited Indonesia with the capacity bring it off...