President Prabowo Subianto (left) and United States President Donald Trump (right) show the signed trade deal documents in Washington, DC, on Feb. 19, 2026, as witnessed by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Is the Feb. 19 Indonesia–US trade deal fair?

The answer depends on what we mean by “fair”: short-term export survival, balanced reciprocity, or long-term policy autonomy.

4 months ago

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Integrating the Giuseppe Garibaldi into Indonesia’s national defense

As Indonesia enters the 2025–2029 strategic planning cycle, the shifting geopolitical dynamics of the Indo-Pacific demand a transition from static territorial defense to a highly mobile, networked maritime posture. The integration of the ex-Italian Navy aircraft carrier cruiser, Giuseppe Garibaldi, into the Indonesian Military is a strategic necessity as the new platform can serve as a vital...

4 months ago

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Presidency for all: Indonesia’s human rights diplomacy

As Indonesia takes the helm of the UN Human Rights Council for the first time, we are championing a "Presidency for all" that bridges global divides and centers on human dignity. This historic leadership marks our commitment to proving that democratic resilience at home can drive principled, inclusive justice on the world stage. ...

4 months ago

The Latest

Boys will be boys: Children play online games on Nov. 27, 2024, on their mobile phones along the roadside in Jakarta.

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Indonesia’s online child safety needs more than an age rule

As Indonesia moves toward a March 2026 deadline for its new social media age restrictions, a "silver bullet" policy of age limits may prove ineffective without addressing deeper structural issues of platform accountability and digital privacy.

4 months ago

The ASEAN Secretariat building in Jakarta was inaugurated in August 2019 in conjunction with the 52nd anniversary of ASEAN.

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In search of the first female ASEAN secretary-general

After 50 years and 15 male secretaries-general, the time has come for ASEAN to break its longest-standing glass ceiling. As Indonesia prepares to nominate the next chief, a historic opportunity emerges to prove that the region’s future is both inclusive and ready for female leadership at the very top.

4 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto, speaks at a business summit on Feb. 18 hosted by the United States Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

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Beyond Board of Peace: Jakarta secures $38.4b trade deal

While the world’s cameras were fixed on the billion-dollar debut of the Board of Peace, Jakarta was busy building a $38.4 billion economic foundation for Indonesia’s industrial future.

4 months ago

People carry bodies on Feb 13, 2026, during a mass burial of unidentified Palestinians, whose bodies were released after being held in Israel during the recent conflict, in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.

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Clausewitz was right, Gaza proves it: War without politics serves nothing

Gaza underground fortress is the physical face of asymmetric war, a conflict where the weaker side does not need to win.

4 months ago

A Kenyan health worker administers a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine on March 5, 2021, to her colleagues, part of the COVAX mechanism by GAVI (The Vaccine Alliance) to help fight against COVID-19 at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.

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Inequality will make the next pandemic worse

Pandemics are coming faster and spreading more widely, threatening more lives and livelihoods than ever before.

4 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (left) and United States President Donald Trump (right) show the signed trade deal documents in Washington, US, on Feb. 19, 2026, as witnessed by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

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Tariffs are numbers. Positioning is strategy

Trade debates often begin with numbers. Yet global trade rarely turns on the numbers themselves. It turns on relative positioning.

4 months ago

Bangladeshi soldiers stand guard as people line up outside a polling station on Feb. 12, 2026, ahead of the polls opening for Bangladesh’s general election, in Dhaka.

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Bangladesh’s return to democracy

The polls have ended the political uncertainty that had gripped the nation since the overthrow of the previous regime by a student-led uprising in 2024. Yet the challenges for the new government are daunting.

4 months ago

A man walks a dog on Jan. 18 at Nuuk’s old harbor.

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Soft power in retreat, fear in ascent

US rhetoric and policy signal a move from persuasion to deterrence, unsettling allies and heightening global strategic tensions.

4 months ago

An activist takes part in a hunger strike outside the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta on Aug. 14, 2023, as part of a protest demanding lawmakers pass the long-awaited domestic workers protection bill.

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Modern slavery: Beyond the myth of chains and shackles

Modern slavery is about an absence of choice: situations where workers lack the real freedom to stop working because of threats, coercion, deception or debt.

4 months ago

Police personnel as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force shout slogans during a ceremony commemorating the 78th National Police Day in Jakarta on July 1, 2024.

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Why Israel fears Indonesian peacekeepers in Gaza

A closer look at Israel’s internal dynamics reveals a surprising twist: The planned arrival of Indonesian troops is facing fierce opposition from hardline groups in Tel Aviv.

4 months ago

Sharing harmony: A large crowd of Muslims performs a mass prayer for Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice) on June 6, 2025, in the street surrounding Koinonia Church in Jatinegara, East Jakarta.

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When Lent and Ramadan converge: A shared spiritual season for Indonesia

As Indonesia experiences a rare spiritual convergence in 2026, the overlapping seasons of Lent and Ramadan offer a powerful "spiritual laboratory" to transform individual faith into a shared national strength.

4 months ago

Neighborly communion: Volunteers distribute free food to Muslim community members for iftar on April 18, 2024, at the Dharma Bhakti Temple in Taman Sari, West Jakarta.

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When the moons align: Lunar New Year, Lent and Ramadan

Whether it is the 40-day Lenten period of repentance leading to Easter, the month of Ramadan dedicated to the Quran and spiritual growth or the Lunar New Year’s focus on clearing out the old to welcome a fresh start, these traditions share profound themes of inner conversion and social responsibility.

4 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto sits at his table on Wednesday during the United States-Indonesia Business Summit hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

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The rise of foreign policy presidents in leaderless world

In a world increasingly governed by the cynical logic of "might makes right," Indonesia is stepping forward to prove that visionary leadership and regional cooperation remain our most potent tools for reclaiming global peace.

4 months ago

Students play the online game Roblox on Sept. 17, 2025, during the Edublox extracurricular activity at Solo Technopark in Surakarta, Central Java.

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How Indonesia is leading its own gaming story

Drawing on a rich tradition of wayang and cerita rakyat, Indonesia’s booming game industry is the new stage for local stories and values.

4 months ago

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto (front center) and Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (front right) attend the inaugural meeting of the “Board of Peace“ hosted by United States President Donald Trump on Thursday at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC. President Trump on Thursday gathered allies to inaugurate the “Board of Peace,“ his new institution focused on progress on Gaza but whose ambitions reach much further. Around two dozen world leaders or other senior officials have come to Washington for the meeting -- including several of Trump's authoritarian-leaning friends and virtually none of the European democrats that traditionally sign on to US initiatives.

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Indonesia’s Gaza mandate: Clarity is not yet closure

The Foreign Ministry has drawn its red lines in Gaza, but until the government addresses the legal and financial shadows of the mandate, the case for Indonesia’s participation remains far from closed.

4 months ago

A bulldozed planting area for palm oil plantation is seen on Jan. 18 in Lamno, Aceh.

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Land rights controversy hurts palm oil investment

If conservation areas are administratively interpreted as “unproductive land”, Indonesia risks engineering a policy contradiction of its own making.

4 months ago

Children hold torches beneath the national flag at a gathering on Jl. Basuki Rachmat in East Jakarta on Feb. 14, 2026, before joining a traditional parade to welcome the holy month of Ramadan, which begins on Feb. 19 this year.

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A Ramadan reflection: From population statistics to the essence of piety

Amid the unprecedented levels of hunger across the world and as members of the second-largest religious demographic in the world and at home, Indonesian Muslims have an obligation this Ramadan to not just fast as an end in and of itself, but also to share as a means of attaining takwa.

4 months ago

People gather on Jan. 19 in front of the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh. More than 400 Indonesians were freed from cyber scam networks in Cambodia earlier that month.

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Humanitarian crisis after a scam crackdown

Thousands of people from Indonesia, China and Africa are waiting for help to return home, but the process has been slow and many are increasingly desperate.

4 months ago

Powerful solution: A technician inspects a rooftop solar power plant (PLTS) on Sept. 8, 2025 at Trans Studio Mall in Bandung, West Java. Data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry show that as of July 2025, rooftop PLTS have reached a combined installed capacity of 538 megawatt peak across 10,882 customers.

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Indonesia’s market jitters a confidence test for international investors

Markets are asking Indonesia for predictable and coherent rules that distinguish temporary transition measures from long-lived assets that may face growing financing and refinancing challenges.

4 months ago

Asmat tribespeople try a smartphone on June 1, 2023, in the rural district of Agats in Asmat regency, South Papua.

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When fighting disinformation risks silencing the press

In the digital age, information chaos has real-world consequences, and Indonesia is fighting it handicapped.

4 months ago

Drivers of on-demand transportation services Gojek and Grab wait for passengers on June 24, 2020, in Jakarta. The gig economy has contributed at least US$7 billion to the Indonesian economy and jobs for at least 4 million people, but falls short in offering decent work.

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The anatomy of jobless growth: Why 5.39% expansion isn't enough for Indonesia

Beyond the 5.39 percent headline, Indonesia’s economy is trapped in a cycle of "jobless growth" that prioritizes respectable statistics over stable careers.

4 months ago

Workers work at the construction site on Dec. 19, 2025, on the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) seawall in the West Ancol area in North Jakarta.

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Financing the Global South's infrastructure boom

Too often, emerging markets have relied on models proselytized by global development finance institutions without paying adequate attention to local institutional constraints.

4 months ago

Head-to-head: Students brave security cordons during a rally on Aug. 28, 2025, near the House of Representatives building in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

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Ramadan and the liberation theology of state and society

While presented as a stabilizing force, experts argue the “hegemonic coalition” of the current administration narrows the system of checks and balances.

4 months ago

An eddy whirls amid calm waters on Sept. 11, 2021, in the Solo River of Central Java.

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Java’s freshwater surprise comes with risk

Conservation of freshwater biodiversity must be integrated with ongoing watershed rehabilitation and restoration efforts to ensure river health in key basins across Java.

4 months ago

A partially collapsed house stands vacant on Jan. 29, 2026 in Garoga village of Batang Toru district, South Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra, over two months after flooding swept across three northern provinces on Sumatra in late November 2025.

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How past choices left Sumatra vulnerable to flooding

Decades of damaging forest governance decisions degraded landscapes, turning heavy rain into catastrophe.

4 months ago

A teacher distributes free meals to students while schools remain closed following a building collapse at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Miftahul Falah in Gunungputri, Bogor Regency, West Java, on Feb. 2, 2026. The government has confirmed that the program will continue during Ramadan, with menus and distribution times adjusted for students observing the fast.

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The privileges of MBG and the deteriorating state of education

The rapid promotion of SPPG employees stands in stark irony to the plight of honorary teachers, many of whom have dedicated decades to education without clear employment status.

4 months ago

Financial Services Authority (OJK) acting head Friderica Widyasari Dewi (fourth right), and another newly appointed OJK leader, Hasan Fawzi (third right), brief the press after taking on their new roles on Jan. 31, a day after previous leaders announced their resignations. Jeffrey Hendrik (second from right), meanwhile, is expected to assume ad-interim the role of Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) president director.

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OJK’s dual mandate is the problem, credibility is key

To restore Indonesia’s market credibility, the OJK must stop trying to be both a cheerleader and a policeman, because a regulator tasked with protecting growth will always be too conflicted to enforce the law.

4 months ago

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