Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (left) and Foreign Minister Sugiono and their Chinese counterparts Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Defense Minister Dong Jun attend a press briefing after the first meeting of China-Indonesia joint foreign and defense ministerial dialogue at the Diaoyutai State Guest House on April 21, 2025 in Beijing, China.

Comprehensive, strategic ties with China

Indonesia could nudge China to stop dragging its feet in concluding negotiations for a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, something that ASEAN has been pushing for from Beijing for over two decades.

1 day ago

Editorial

Keep rotten doctors away

The West Java cases also put a spotlight on what experts call structural and psychological gaps in the safety and protection of women. ...

2 days ago

Editorial

LG exit no small matter

LG's recent exit from the US$8.45 billion Project Titan presents an opportunity for the government to take a step back, take stock of market conditions and take a broader view of its downstream goals. ...

3 days ago

The Latest

This photo illustration shows the DeepSeek app on a mobile phone in Hong Kong on Jan. 28, 2025.

Editorial

DeepSeek gives us a leg up

DeepSeek gives up a leg up, but we have to take the next step by developing the human resources and infrastructure needed.

2 months ago

Contradictory statements: Businessman Hashim Djojohadikusumo, appointed by his brother President Prabowo Subianto as special presidential envoy on environment and climate, delivers a statement during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, on Nov. 12, 2024.

Editorial

Why we should stick with Paris Agreement

Rather than withdrawing from the treaty, Indonesia should up its game in the negotiation room.

2 months ago

Power of information: National Nutrition Agency (BGN) head Dadan Hindayana (second right) and National Development Planning Minister Rachmat Pambudy (right) talk to journalists at a press briefing after a cabinet meeting about the free meals program with President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Jan. 17, 2025.

Editorial

Whither journalism, whither democracy?

The role of journalism in keeping society critically informed for people to make the right decisions, day-in and day-out, has been undermined, if not compromised.

2 months ago

Pramoedya Ananta Toer, one of Indonesia's world-renowned authors, signs one of his books on Dec. 19, 2000, during the launching of the English edition of Tales of Jakarta at a bookstore in Jakarta.

Editorial

In Pramoedya's footsteps

If anything, Pramoedya was not content to just write and comment about the state of the world, but in a long tradition practiced by resistance writers like Albert Camus and Maxim Gorky, he decided to engage the world through direct action.

2 months ago

Devastated: People walk amid collapsed buildings along Saftawi street in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Feb. 5, 2025, during a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. Palestinian militant group Hamas lashed out on Feb. 5 at United States President Donald Trump's shock proposal for the US to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries, seemingly whether they wanted to leave or not.

Editorial

Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan

As a leader who wants to bring his country to the center of global political affairs, Prabowo should be more forthright in defending the rights of Palestinians.

2 months ago

A man stands on plastic waste and other garbage washed ashore and accumulating on a beach in Kedonganan Badung regency, in Bali on Jan. 3, 2025.

Editorial

Mindful host

Overtourism and overdevelopment have become serious issues, especially in the southern part of Bali.

2 months ago

Fueling the economy: Employees work at a Pertamina gas station in Tangerang, Banten, on March 1, 2022.

Editorial

What's ahead for Danantara?

The result of the new rule represents a compromise, which allows for two competing centers of power within the new body instead of just one.

2 months ago

Critical dissent: Protesters hold posters that read “Dipisahkan Qunut, Disatukan Tambang“ (Separated by Qunut, United by Mining) during a protest against Islamic group Muhammadiyah's decision to accept the government's offer of coal mining concessions in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on July 27, 2024.

Editorial

Mining permits for all?

National Innovation and Research Agency (BRIN) researchers have warned of the risks that arise when mining is managed by entities that are alien to the sector, such as religious organizations.

2 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (right) and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim (left) walk across the connecting bridge of the Petronas Twin Towers on Jan. 27, 2025, during the President's visit to Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur.

Editorial

Bound by destiny

While Indonesia and Malaysia have had disagreements over maritime boundaries, these must be managed carefully to prevent disputes from escalating into serious diplomatic rifts.

2 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech on Jan. 22, 2025, at a plenary cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta.

Editorial

Prudence in state budget

While the budget adjustment seems rational on paper, it is paramount that the government guides the implementation of the programs and manages any consequences that may arise from the fiscal action.

2 months ago

Health workers administer a pre-vaccination screening test for a toddler on April 24, 2024, at a medical facility in Cipondoh, Tangerang, Banten, during the Health Ministry’s free nationwide vaccination drive in observance of World Immunization Week.

Editorial

Health checks for all

The Prabowo administration is planning to launch in February its next flagship program: free birthday health screenings.

2 months ago

Slashing assistance: Marco Rubio speaks after he is sworn in as Secretary of State by United States Vice President JD Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, 2025.

Editorial

Making America weak again

Foreign aid was one reason why the US was once regarded as one of the greatest nations, if not the greatest.

3 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrive for a photo opportunity ahead of their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi, on Jan. 25, 2025.

Editorial

Lessons from India's foreign policy

Prabowo's meeting last week with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely be among the most relevant to his ambition to become a global player while remaining independent in facing a more multipolar world.

3 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (center) and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka (third right) greet Red and White Cabinet ministers before a plenary cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Dec. 2, 2024.

Editorial

Prabowo’s 100 tough days

We cannot deny the fact that the first three months of the Prabowo administration have not been free of controversy.

3 months ago

This elevated view shows mounds of rubble from collapsed buildings along Saftawi Street in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Jan. 20, 2025 a day after a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas went into effect.

Editorial

Indonesia’s active role in Gaza

Accepting some Palestinians to relocate temporarily would be a gesture to show that Indonesia is willing to put its money where its mouth is.

3 months ago

United States President Donald Trump (center) gestures alongside US First Lady Melania Trump and US Vice President JD Vance during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, on Jan. 20, 2025.

Editorial

The power of options

The “other options” card is crucial to strengthen our hand in future negotiations.

3 months ago

A flotilla of boats with Indonesian Navy personnel on board travels to take down a mysterious sea fence in Tangerang, Banten, on Jan. 23, 2025.

Editorial

Priceless waters

Our seas and coasts should remain open to ensure the livelihoods of coastal communities and protect marine biodiversity.

3 months ago

Retirees line up in Jakarta on Feb. 15, 2011, to receive their monthly pension payments.

Editorial

Underlying pension problems

It is worthwhile to look at the underlying problems with the pension system in Indonesia.

3 months ago

Then United States Republican presidential nominee and former president Donald Trump attends a campaign rally, in Salem, Virginia, U.S. Nov. 2, 2024.

Editorial

It's Trump's world

In a recent interview, Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he was pleased that the Chinese leader "respects me because he knows I am [expletive] crazy."

3 months ago

A disused open-pit mining site in Nyogan, Jambi, is seen filled with water.

Editorial

Protect the planet, its experts

The work of environmental experts has been increasingly criminalized in Indonesia in recent years, jeopardizing not only individual freedoms but also the nation’s ability to address its most pressing ecological challenges.

3 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (left) visits US President Joe Biden (right) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Nov. 13, 2024.

Editorial

Prabowo’s US envoy

To show Trump that Indonesia considers the US an important partner, Prabowo must quickly appoint an envoy to Washington, DC.

3 months ago

A bamboo fence stretching several kilometers stands on Jan. 11, 2025, in the coastal waters of Tangerang, Banten.

Editorial

Bamboo barrier brouhaha

The government's response to the "mysterious" bamboo fence installed off the coast of Tangerang has left the public wanting and sets a bad precedent in protecting our coastal communities and marine ecosystems.

3 months ago

Bald patch: Large swaths of cleared land divide a smallholder oil palm plantation on April 29, 2023, during a tree regeneration program in Mesuji Raya district, Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra.

Editorial

Facing palm oil nonsense

There are still many sustainable ways in store to enhance palm oil output, especially through long-neglected replanting efforts rather than opening new plantations by clearing forests.

3 months ago

Palestinians celebrate at their camp for people displaced by conflict at Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 15, 2025, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas.

Editorial

Truce in Gaza, but for how long?

While we are elated by the news of a truce on Wednesday between Israel and Hamas in their war in the Gaza Strip, we know this is not the first declaration of a ceasefire since their war began in October 2023.

3 months ago

A visitor stands next to a module of an electric vehicle on July 18, 2024, during the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show 2024 in Tangerang, Banten.

Editorial

Car sales plunge. So what?

Car sales have been plummeting in Indonesia lately, but maybe that is not all bad news.

3 months ago

Civil society activists and university students hold banners that read “Police reform“ (left) and “People's killer” during a protest in front of the Central Java Police in Semarang on Nov. 28, 2024.

Editorial

Man behind the gun

One of the primary drivers of Indonesia's growing gun violence is the culture of impunity within its military and police forces.

3 months ago

Foreign Minister Sugiono speaks on Jan. 10, 2025, during his annual foreign policy speech at the ministry's office in Jakarta.

Editorial

Assertive foreign policy

For those attending the speech, one of the most memorable scenes was when the image of Sukarno with global south leaders like then-Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then-Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser during the Bandung Asia-Africa conference in 1955 was projected on stage.

3 months ago

Indonesia's South Korean coach Shin Tae-yong salutes the fans after the U23 AFC Qatar 2024 Asian Cup third-place match between Iraq and Indonesia at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha on May 2, 2024.

Editorial

'Kamsahamnida', Shin Tae-yong

Shin has played an instrumental role in building a team that can someday restore Indonesia’s reputation as a regional soccer powerhouse.

3 months ago

Jakarta governor-elect Pramono Anung (right) and deputy governor-elect Rano Karno (left) greet their supporters during an event in Jakarta on Dec. 14, 2024, celebrating the pair's victory in the Jakarta gubernatorial election.

Editorial

Welcoming Jakarta’s new leaders

Although Jakarta lost its national capital status with the issuance of a presidential decree (Keppres) last month, its many problems persist.

3 months ago

Building BRICS: Government officials attend a plenary session in the outreach/BRICS Plus format at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Oct. 24, 2024.

Editorial

Playing with BRICS fire

Prabowo believes his government can reap economic benefits from BRICS, although the international community perceives it as a group driven by political, rather than economic interests.

3 months ago

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