Indonesia's latest return to China's capital market has been met with overwhelming demand as the government successfully issued two tranches of yuan-denominated Panda Bonds totaling 7 billion yuan (Rp 18.6 trillion or US$1.1 billion) to help finance the 2026 state budget. The offering was oversubscribed by 2.4 times, underscoring continued confidence in Indonesia's fiscal outlook. However, the timing of the issuance has also attracted attention, as it comes amid heightened scrutiny over Indonesia's economic relations with major global powers.

As the Association of Southeast Asian Nations turns 59, it should use the occasion to reflect on both its past progress and current challenges to determine future delivery in view of its diamond jubilee next year.

As the political center of Peninsular Malaysia shifts rightward, preserving the nation’s fragile multiethnic balance is becoming a crucial test, not just for its federation but for the stability of ASEAN.

Consumption in Indonesia does not merely endure macro volatility; it frequently accelerates through it.

The majority of our farmers are working plots so small they cannot generate a sustainable or dignified income.

This is a moment not to discard decades of progress in learning how to deliver aid but to reconsider priorities and demand greater accountability.

As American public opinion changes inexorably regarding their country's policy toward Israel, Indonesians should pay heed to how the voices of ordinary voters may ultimately redefine the future of US policy toward Palestine.

President Prabowo Subianto is once again reshaping Indonesia's economic institutions. This time, he has instructed the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) to involve the Danantara sovereign wealth fund in its deliberations, creating what Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani calls "KSSK Plus." But when a state investor joins discussions where its own risks may be assessed, the question is whether the arrangement strengthens policy coordination or weakens institutional independence.

If policy implementation is too divisive or too drastic, President Prabowo Subianto may find that the fence of distrust grows even higher among the public, even as the physical ones come down.

What we are witnessing today in Malaysia is the rise of the frenemy: a political party or coalition that acts as a friendly partner on one stage, but turns into an outright rival the moment they step onto another.

Indonesia will need to decide whether its digital data should be treated merely as an input for external technology companies or as a strategic national asset whose value should also contribute to domestic development.

Indonesia now faces an important choice. The current policy mix is costly to maintain while becoming less effective.

The global tax system has repeatedly put corporate interests ahead of people and the planet by allowing multinationals to transfer profits to tax havens. If adopted, the proposed UN Tax Convention would overturn the century-old rules that make this possible.

Indonesia spent 20 years mastering the art of dismantling terrorist organizations. Its next threat will not have an organization to dismantle.

Repatriation without rights risks reproducing the very crisis it seeks to resolve.

Indonesia has introduced a new exception to its natural resources export proceeds (DHE-SDA) policy, allowing exporters from the United States, China, Australia and Canada greater flexibility in managing their export proceeds. The announcement marks the first significant relaxation of a policy that, only months earlier, was expanded to require most natural resource exporters to retain 100 percent of their export earnings in Indonesia's state-owned banks (Himbara) for 12 months.

A war economy is not necessarily the mobilization of force, but conflict used as a lever on prices and supply chains.

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.