Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) joins other foreign ministers during the Opening Statement of the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with China on July 22 at the Philippine International Convention Centre in Manila.

ASEAN, China need to promote the Global Governance Initiative together

Grounded in shared values and decades of partnership, China and ASEAN are poised to turn the Global Governance Initiative into a real-world architecture for regional stability and shared prosperity.

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A truly just transition demands direct indigenous power

A decarbonized future cannot be measured in megawatts alone: without the non-negotiable right to consent, the global rush for clean energy risks replicating the very exploitation it claims to leave behind. ...

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Militarization by request: The quiet creep in Jakarta

When civilian ministries outsource governance to the barracks, democracy risks mistaking military creep for routine statecraft. ...

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Rizal Kasli, Industry expert, chairman of the mining expertise board of Persatuan Insinyur Indonesia (PII), and chairman of PERHAPI (2018–2024)

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Clean nickel paradox vs. fossil fuel dominance

The Indonesian nickel industry is currently navigating a profound paradox: a world that desperately needs our mineral wealth but increasingly demands it to be "clean" and low-emission.

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A graphic shows the Equal Earth cartographic projection. The United Nations General Assembly voted on Sept. 4, 2026, to back a resolution spearheaded by several African countries to adopt a map that makes their continent bigger while shrinking North America and Europe, which aimed at “a more accurate representation“ of continental landmasses.

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A road map for the next UN secretary-general

The next secretary-general will fill the most prominent position in multilateral governance at a time when multilateralism is arguably at its nadir.

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President Prabowo Subianto looks on as he arrives on Aug. 14 at the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta for the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) plenary meeting, in which he delivered the State of the Nation address and the 2027 state budget proposal.

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Fiscal rule, self-discipline and the state budget

If the government seeks a better balance between fiscal stability and economic growth, adopting a springboard approach is the path forward.

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Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif raises a hand on Sept. 22, 2026, as he arrives at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the United States, to attend the first day of the high-level general debate during the 81st UN General Assembly.

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Pakistan-US ties: A new chapter for an old friendship

Both countries will benefit from a more meaningful, multidimensional and consistent relationship built on a historical foundation and oriented toward a forward-looking framework, as will the wider region and the world.

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United States President Donald Trump (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk on Oct. 30, 2025, as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan, South Korea.

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Different times, shared hearts: What brings China and the US together

Long before treaties and summits, the enduring bond between China and the United States was forged in classrooms, cockpits and ballparks by ordinary people with extraordinary hearts.

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A Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) crew walks towards a CH-47 Chinook helicopter ahead of Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin's visit to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's (JMSDF) ship JS Kunisaki on Sept. 15, 2026, at Kijing port in Mempawah, West Kalimantan. In his visit, Sjafrie held a limited meeting with the Japanese officers on the joint waterbombing missions to extinguish forest and land fire in the province.

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When citizens demand accountability for forest fires

As toxic smoke returns to West Kalimantan, a landmark class action is putting Indonesia's environmental governance on trial, testing whether citizens can legally force the state to protect them from preventable disaster.

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Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara (center left) speaks at the APBN Kita press conference in Jakarta on Sept. 19, 2026.

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Don’t waste Indonesia’s macroeconomic opportunity

Many advanced economies that once set the benchmark for macroeconomic discipline now struggle with problems more common to emerging markets. For emerging economies with sound policies, this creates a rare opportunity to narrow the credibility gap.

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Designing the future: Students attend a visual communication design training session on April 13, 2026, at Saint Joseph Catholic vocational high school in Jakarta.

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What PISA keeps telling us about foundations

Indonesia’s latest PISA performance remains below the targets, but the broader trajectory contains genuine progress.

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The newly acquired aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi (left), now KRI Sriwijaya, is accompanied by KRI Brawijaya (center) and KRI Prabu Siliwangi as they sail past Bangka waters on Sept. 17, 2026.

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The sensible roles and harsh realities of KRI Sriwijaya

To justify its steep price tag, Indonesia’s first aircraft carrier must balance realistic support roles against the risk of becoming a costly ceremonial white elephant.

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Smoke billows from nickel smelting plants at the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) in Lelilef, North Maluku, on July 7, 2024.

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Indonesia’s nickel curbs struggle to convince markets

Indonesia is learning that building a dominant position in the nickel market is the easy part. Leveraging its influence over supply to control prices is proving much trickier.

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An aerial view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods at Devighat, Bidur municipality, along the confluence of the Trishuli and Tadi rivers in Nepal's Nuwakot district on Aug. 27, 2026.

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Nepal floods obliterate final excuses for climate inaction

A deadly Himalayan avalanche has exposed the catastrophic human toll of global climate inaction, turning Nepal’s tragedy into an urgent test of whether world leaders will finally pay climate reparations or face international legal accountability.

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Labor bill must protect workers, not just employment relationships

To protect millions in an era of subcontracting and gig platforms, Indonesia’s new labor bill must ensure that basic rights follow the worker, not just the corporate contract.

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President Prabowo Subianto and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands ahead of a meeting on Thursday on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia.

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Diversification, not alignment: Reading Indonesia's Russia tilt

By courting Vladimir Putin as a strategic counterweight to Beijing, President Prabowo Subianto is reviving Indonesia’s non-aligned doctrine—hedging against Chinese dominance by adding a risky, sanctions-heavy third pole to Jakarta's geopolitical chessboard.

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When the pieces start playing themselves: AI in anarchy

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The floating panels of a solar power plant at Cirata Dam in Purwakarta regency, West Java, are seen from above on Sept. 26, 2023.

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No industrial off-takers, no 100 GW solar

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Balancing act: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center) presides over the second and final day of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Sept. 13, 2026, flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin (left, front), and Chinese President Xi Jinping (right, front).

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ASEAN warms to BRICS without sacrificing centrality

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Can QRIS digitize MSME credit?

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Supriyono (center left, onstage), also known as “Botok”, an activist from Pati regency, Central Java, speaks during a demonstration outside the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta on Aug. 27, 2026, urging lawmakers to immediately pass the asset forfeiture bill.

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Popular discontent is justified. Authoritarianism is not the answer

The people's fight against oligarchy, corruption and foreign dependence won't be won by sliding back into authoritarianism, but by building a democracy strong enough to hold power to account.

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Leaders of participating countries gather for a photograph on Sept. 13 during the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

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BRICS seeks to give the Global South a bigger voice

The grouping increasingly represents emerging and middle powers across regions that share common development priorities and seek a greater voice in institutions shaping global affairs.

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Which ASEAN equity laggards could soon become leaders?

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Why Indonesians feel increasingly bitter today

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President Prabowo Subianto (center), accompanied by Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka (right), shakes hands with Papua Governor Mathius Fakhiri (left) on Dec. 16, 2025, prior to a meeting with 46 regional leaders from Papua along with 10 executive committee members of the Acceleration of Papua’s Special Autonomy Development at the State Palace in Central Jakarta.

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Federalism and the middle way of decentralization

To survive in an unstable world, Indonesia must master the delicate art of the middle way: keeping a firm hand at the center while fixing the fractured, graft-prone machinery of regional autonomy.

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The American shield is cracking

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