From a purely financial perspective, Japan, arguably America’s biggest ally in Asia, poses as much of a threat due to the sheer scale of its exposure to US debt. It’s officially America’s biggest international creditor, to the tune of $1.14 trillion.

Patients in Indonesia cannot access medical opioids because the government fears drug misuse.

Within the multilateral framework of the United Nations, in the G20 and as partners in MIKTA, Mexico and Indonesia consistently join forces to amplify their voices. 

At a time when ASEAN centrality is frequently questioned, the recent meetings demonstrated that ASEAN remains the principal convening platform of the Indo-Pacific.

The G2 concept that Trump has been touting lately is a highly unstable proposition that could make the emergence of a unipolar Asia more likely. Fortunately, Japan remains committed to advancing the far more effective “free and open Indo-Pacific" framework, with India as an indispensable partner.

Fire mitigation succeeds when risk is viewed as a shared responsibility. No single actor can tackle the threat of fire alone. 

The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) is reaching a critical junction, burdened by systemic corruption, opaque procurement and severe leadership instability. Tasked with executing President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program for nearly 90 million children, the agency has cycled through three different heads in less than two months. This rapid turnover is a warning sign: An institution attempting to scale overnight for a massive multibillion-dollar policy must establish airtight safeguards against graft and political patronage if it hopes to deliver on its promise.

This unofficial shadow cabinet offers something the Prabowo administration currently lacks: a rigorous, uncompromised sparring partner. 

As Asia's AI-fueled stock boom cools, a supposed “AI loser” is emerging from the wreckage as an unlikely haven: India.

One important element that appears to be missing from Prabowo's agenda is the cultivation of a strong foundation of public ethics.

There has been a recurring theme in recent corruption cases, where nominees and secretive corporate forms have obscured the real identity of owners and allowed for huge losses in state tax revenue.

What is the most reliable development path for an increasingly fragmented global economy? China and India represent different answers. But can other countries emulate them?

Nearly two decades later, the appropriate time for realistic yet necessary change has arrived. 

"KSSK Plus" introduces profound systemic, institutional and governance risks that threaten to undermine the very financial stability it seeks to enhance.

Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo has resigned, becoming the latest senior fiscal and monetary policymaker to leave office over the past year. After more than four decades helming the central bank, his decision to step down in the middle of his second term comes at a time of heightened global economic uncertainty, mounting domestic fiscal pressures and weakening market confidence. Perry’s departure has reignited debate over the central bank’s independence amid growing state policy priorities.

While unscrupulous business practices certainly help tourism-adjacent illegal enterprises thrive in Bali, official government policies both at the local and national levels have made life worse for the Balinese.

The rapid expansion of household net worth to some US$570 trillion last year is increasingly being driven by paper equity values, drifting away from tangible asset values and underlying economic performance.

Poland's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) is a clear statement that peace, dialogue and respect for international law remain the best foundations for security in an increasingly uncertain world. 

In a fracturing global order ruled by tech giants and rising autocracies, Indonesia must abandon gradualism and execute a bold strategic breakout or else risk permanent economic subordination.

If URI is not intended to function as a conventional university, what exactly distinguishes it from institutions that already train public leaders? If it is, why establish a new university rather than strengthen existing ones?

The job requires not only technical expertise in economics but also judgement, communication, crisis management and political independence. 

Connect the dots and a deeper question emerges: Is the country shifting toward a command model of economic governance?

Indonesia's contribution should be to insist on what actually makes nuclear peace hold: declaratory transparency, no-first-use commitments, verified command-and-control safeguards and working crisis hotlines between adversaries.

President Prabowo Subianto has once again taken what many observers describe as an impulsive policy step, raising eyebrows among academics and policy experts. This time, the controversy surrounds the establishment of the University of the Republic of Indonesia (URI), a project announced without any publicly available policy study or broad institutional consultation.

Partnerships with China, not protectionism, will determine affordable, interoperable and equitable global decarbonization and energy security.

Filipinos in Europe are enjoying the kind of governance that elevates human rights on a pedestal. But back home, why do they rabidly support the most fascist and the most murderous leader the Philippines has ever produced?

More than a tropical resort, Bali is a living philosophy, and it's time to reclaim its culture from the lens of Western tourism.