A flag bearing the surname of United States President Donald Trump and his campaign slogan waves as Air Force One touches down at Glasgow Prestwick Airport on July 25, 2025, the first of his four-day private visit to Scotland.

The United States could soon be in a world of pain

When keeping score, you aren’t supposed to add "own goals" to your tally.

1 month ago

Indonesia’s EV momentum and the questions we forget to ask

If the local EV plant operates mainly as an assembly site, while key components, technologies and decisions remain imported, then Indonesia risks staying an import-based market. ...

1 month ago

Academia

Beyond ceasefire, ASEAN must anchor peace between Thailand and Cambodia

A public endorsement of the ceasefire by both monarchs of Cambodia and Thailand would signal to the public that peace is a sacred national objective, not just a temporary political maneuver. ...

1 month ago

The Latest

In celebration of National Children’s Day 2025, a charity run by Plan Indonesia and the National Commission on Disabilities encourages families to move, physically and socially. (Courtesy of Run for Equality)

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Child protection: The mandate of social reproduction

We need more comprehensive social intervention, not only for the children but also for their parents and social environment, to break the cycle of violence.

1 month ago

Sandipala Arthaputra president director Paulus Tannos (on the screen) gives a testimony on May 18, 2017, during the e-ID hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court.

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Tannos, golden passports and the price of impunity

We tend to treat the case of Paulus Tannos' escape from justice as a matter of administration rather than urgency, losing critical time and leverage in the process.

1 month ago

Past meets present: A family dressed in imperial-style costumes waits outside the Forbidden City on July 20 in Beijing.

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The crisis of the Chinese family

A demographic collapse is putting China’s economy, society and polity at risk.

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Rice terraces are seen on January 1, 2014, at Jatiluwih village in Tabanan regency, Bali.

Academia

How selfie parks limit tourism damage to destinations

Selfie parks may be controversial but they should at least keep tourists safe, as travelers have even been killed in search of the perfect shot.

1 month ago

Smoke rises at Weda Bay Industrial Park (WBIP), a major nickel processing and smelting hub, in Lelilef Sawai, Central Halmahera, North Maluku.

Academia

Diversifying partnerships in Indonesia’s nickel downstreaming strategy

Given the current geopolitical climate, Indonesia must further diversify its partnerships to strengthen the resilience of its nickel downstreaming strategy.

1 month ago

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officials present five suspects of a case pertaining to a road project in North Sumatra during a press conference on June 28, 2025, at the KPK headquarters in Setiabudi, South Jakarta.

Academia

As Indonesia turns 80, the fight against corruption continues

The 80th anniversary of the nation's founding should occasion a reflection of our beginnings and where we are today, and mark a new era of reform to free us from the deep-rooted scourge of corruption and fulfill the promises of our constitutional republic, a dream that was realized through the sweat and blood of millions over centuries.

1 month ago

United States President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured) at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 28 in Turnberry, Scotland.

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The true costs of Trump’s economic agenda

Rather than responding to a crisis, Trump’s policies seek to reorient the American economy by revitalizing its once-dominant manufacturing sector.

1 month ago

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State-owned enterprises: Between legal protection and public accountability

A newly revised regulation leans more toward legal protection, even verging on legal immunity, rather than addressing the root causes that have long undermined the performance and integrity of SOEs.

1 month ago

Increasing tension: A vessel from the Taiwan Coast Guard (front) monitors a China Coast Guard ship on Dec. 12, 2024, while patrolling waters a few nautical miles from Taiwan's northeastern coast.

Academia

Papering over strains, US and allies prep for Taiwan war

Already, 2025 has witnessed a series of the largest and most sophisticated military drills held in the Pacific since the end of World War II, a sign of growing worry over a rising China.

1 month ago

A nighttime view of Soi Thaniya in Patpong entertainment district, known locally as Little Tokyo, is seen on Aug 17, 2013, in Bangkok.

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A shift in Japan’s fight against child sex tourism in Asia

Japan’s warning wasn’t triggered by a government audit or diplomatic scandal. It came because a citizen saw concerning social media posts and decided to act.

1 month ago

A fisherman returns to shore on May 13, 2024, through a mass of trash on the beach in Bangkalan, Madura Island, East Java. Indonesia is the second-largest producer of plastic waste after China, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

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More ambition needed: Road to a global plastic treaty

States should complement production limitations with investment for research and development of plastic alternatives, which may create new jobs for those impacted by the limitation policy.

1 month ago

Lat Laem, a displaced Cambodian farmer (left) carries his belongings on July 29 upon returning home in Kouk Khpos village, Oddar Meanchey province, after the truce with Thailand. As Cambodia and Thailand's ceasefire held on July 29, Lat Laem was one of the first evacuees to return to the frontier since deadly cross-border clashes caused more than 300,000 people to flee.

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Interpreting ASEAN in the absence of power

If ASEAN is to mean anything in the decades ahead, it must move beyond being a ceremonial forum.

1 month ago

Leaps and bounds: People visit the booth of Chinese battery giant CATL during the 21st Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition on April 24 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai.

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Can Europe and China forge a climate connection?

Despite the breakdown in ties between the European Union and China in recent years, the idea of collaborating on clean trade and investment is not so far-fetched.

1 month ago

President Prabowo Subianto gestures on May 5 while addressing his cabinet members during a meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta.

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The end of Indonesian politics as we know it

Prabowo obliterated what remained of the opposition in a single day.

1 month ago

United Kingdom Ambassador to ASEAN Sarah Tiffin (right) and her husband, Ireland Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and ASEAN Pádraig Francis attend a gathering in Jakarta.

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Two ambassadors under one roof

We’ve experienced first-hand how diplomacy is built not just in meeting rooms, but over meals, stories, laughter, passionate discussion and shared hopes and ambitions.

1 month ago

Far from enough: Palestinians receive lentil soup on Saturday at a food distribution point in Gaza City.

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New peace plan increases pressure on Israel, US

It is the first time the Arab states have called for Hamas to disarm and disband.

1 month ago

Untapped potential: Workers carry sugarcane during a harvest on June 21, 2022, at Kewadungan village in Kediri, East Java.

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The bitter reality behind sugarcane downstreaming

Indonesia continues to treat sugarcane solely as a source of sugar, focusing merely on output quantity rather than developing it as a diversified industrial crop.

1 month ago

Peace and prosperity: Local people queue for traditional food during a gathering to mark the 20th anniversary of devastating tsunami at Lampulo fish port in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh, on Dec 26, 2024. The disaster accelerated the peace negotiation to end decades of armed conflict plaguing the province.

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Twenty years of peace in Aceh, the fruits of dialogue

Today Aceh enjoys special autonomy and is uniquely governed by an indigenous political party which safeguards Acehnese culture and religious traditions.

1 month ago

Containers and cranes are seen on April 13 at the container port in Lianyungang, in China's eastern Jiangsu province. China said on April 14, that exports soared 12.4 percent year-on-year last month, beating expectations as Beijing navigated mounting trade headwinds sparked by United States President Donald Trump.

Academia

China-US talks matter a good deal for ASEAN

There is little doubt that the future playbook of high tech will mainly be written by interactions between the US and China, through both cooperation and competition.

1 month ago

Shady stroll: A visitor strolls on Dec. 7, 2024, on a footpath through a mangrove forest at Angke Kapuk Nature Park in North Jakarta.

Academia

A call for community-owned mangrove conservation

Mangroves, as one of the most effective blue carbon ecosystems, are critical to achieving emissions reduction targets.

1 month ago

Elementary and Secondary Education Minister Abdul Mu'ti delivers a speech on May 28 during the launch of the STEM Indonesia Cerdas initiative to provide skills on artificial intelligence and STEM in Jakarta. The iniative aims to reach some 10 million students from 500 schools and is a collaboration by several ministries and the Riady Foundation.

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Is Indonesia ready for AI in K-12 education?

If we adopt AI in education without fully understanding its implications, we risk spending valuable time and resources responding to problems we might have anticipated.

1 month ago

A ‘tukang tari’ (bow dancer) leads a team of rowers in Pacu Jalur, a traditional boat race featuring ‘jalur’ (wooden longboat) of between 25 and 40 meters long, in this undated handout photo from the Tourism and Culture Office of Kuantan Singingi regency, Riau province.

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How Indonesia can export its creative wave to the world

It is long past time that Indonesia gets with the program and invests in our creative economy, not as a mere buzzword but as a sector that can elevate our many living, breathing vibrant cultures, artisans and creatives that embody the rich DNA of our heritage, from traditional to contemporary and digital, to take the world by storm.

1 month ago

Palestinian children wait for a meal on July 22 at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

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Ending the Gaza genocide without relying on the US

A just diplomatic process must include women in shaping a free and peaceful future for Palestine.

1 month ago

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa (left) talks with an advisor next to President Prabowo Subianto during a plenary session of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 7, 2025.

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A new trade agenda for climate-resilient development

While today's uncertain geopolitical landscape poses many constraints on the green ambitions of developing countries, it also offers space for climate-conscious solutions, until such time as self-interests and protectionist policies can give way to global realignment in renewed cooperation.

1 month ago

Member of Myanmar's military stand guard on July 19 on a street in Yangon.

Academia

ASEAN’s parallel diplomacy on Myanmar: Creativity sans coordination

Far from being a roadmap to peace, the five-point consensus has become a diplomatic placeholder, invoked ritually in communiqués yet divorced from realities on the ground.

1 month ago

People wait to register at a job fair in Jakarta on May 22, 2025.

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Indonesia: Seizing the demographic bonus amid a shrinking middle class

The trending #KaburAjaDulu hashtag indicates that Indonesia needs to deploy targeted action in professional education, job creation and women's economic empowerment to counter the phenomenon of a shrinking middle class and take full advantage of its demographic dividend.

1 month ago

A man interacts with a quadruped robot named “Magic Dog“ by Magiclab on July 29 during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) at the Shanghai World Expo and Convention Center in Shanghai.

Academia

China's rebound has a distinct 'cool factor'

The first seven months of the year have delivered a whirlwind of news on Chinese technology and business, oscillating between anxiety and euphoria, but what has cut through the noise has been the emergence of a "cool factor".

1 month ago

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