Commentators should drop the Thucydides Trap because it is both banal and dangerous.

ASEAN doesn’t need a new treaty to end the haze choking Southeast Asia. 

Indonesia might think it is diversifying its weapons suppliers, but it is buying from the very same financial architecture in New York that grades its markets and sets the price of its defense.

Special climate and energy envoy Hashim Djojohadikusumo, President Prabowo Subianto’s younger brother, has revealed a proposal to distribute free smartphones to social assistance (Bansos) recipients, but Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto has denied its existence. The conflicting statements have raised questions about how the initiative came to be announced, particularly as the government pursues a separate program to open bank accounts for 200 million people.

Jakarta’s bold plan to revamp historic districts will only succeed if City Hall modernizes their streets without evicting the living culture and roadside traders who gave them a soul.

Now that major trading partners are seeking to put up more barriers, Beijing may need to rethink its cautious approach to direct household stimulus.

At a defining moment for global justice, the European Union and Indonesia are proving that defending universal human rights demands more than shared values: It takes a decade of sustained dialogue, bold reform and united action.

From elevating ties to an unprecedented strategic partnership five years ago to tackling shared regional challenges, Australia and ASEAN continue to prove that our collective security and economic future are inextricably intertwined.

When multilateral forums succumb to political theater and procedural breaches, the genuine legal principles of decolonization and sovereignty risk being lost to ideological distraction.

By choking off gas to Singapore to fuel the domestic industry, Jakarta is gambling that resource nationalism can build real economic muscle rather than simply leave stranded promises in its wake.

Redefining corruption to exclude "state losses" misses the real danger: changing the wording of the law cannot fix a justice system that still struggles to separate honest policy failures from corrupt intent.

The appointment of Suroso Isnandar as president director of state-owned electricity company PT PLN comes as the government steps up efforts to deliver its ambitious 100 gigawatt-peak (GWp) solar power program. Having previously overseen renewable energy projects at PLN, Suroso is well positioned to lead the initiative. However, delivering the program within its three-year timeline will be challenging, given Indonesia’s structural constraints on integrating variable renewable energy (NRE) into its electricity grid.

The government has underestimated wildfires and their consequences before; it cannot afford to make the same mistake again.

Though few dare to speculate about it publicly, an economic and political perfect storm is bearing down on China.

One of the criteria for becoming a national hero is not having committed treason against the nation. Was BJ Habibie excluded because of this issue?

Narrowing corruption down to bribery may protect state investors from criminalized business losses, but without strict checks, it risks turning legal certainty into a shield for oligarchic power.

As a member of the Financial Action Task Force, Indonesia can help ensure Myanmar is judged by enforcement results, not by its new civilian title.

With East Asia on the brink of a dangerous nuclear tipping point, ASEAN must abandon quiet diplomacy and force frank answers from Beijing, Tokyo, and Seoul at next month’s summit.

At stake are Indonesia's credibility as an economic partner, its ability to attract long-term investment and its standing as a regional leader.

Nearly two years into his presidency, President Prabowo Subianto has moved decisively to tighten his grip on Indonesia’s two most powerful security institutions. A series of leadership changes at the National Police (Polri) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) this month have systematically reduced the residual influence of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration, realigning internal loyalties and strengthening presidential authority for the remainder of his term toward the 2029 elections.

By ordering an end to military tribunals for crimes, the Constitutional Court just dealt a decisive blow to decades of impunity and challenged parliament to prove no soldier is above the law.

A record rice surplus is filling Bulog warehouses rather than lowering market prices, exposing a costly food policy that prioritizes managing inventory over feeding the poor.

More than two decades after his capture, Southeast Asia’s most notorious jihadist remains trapped in legal purgatory at Guantanamo Bay, a relic of a forgotten war that neither Washington nor Jakarta has the political will or legal means to resolve.

Advancing alternative and equitable ways of thinking about education is urgently needed, and the Indonesian language may have a role to play.

The ultimate test of an intellectual is not challenging power from the outside, but refusing to become its mouthpiece once invited inside.

A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) is planned from the second half of 2027, the government has said, after making similar promises almost every year since 2022. The levy is expected to raise Rp 1.7 trillion (US$95 million), while diabetes care alone cost the national health insurance an estimated Rp 12.6 trillion in 2024. At its planned scale, the proposed levy risks falling short as both a public health measure and a revenue-generating instrument.

To navigate a fractured world, Indonesia’s foreign policy must move beyond symbolic inclusion and treat its youth not just as tomorrow’s leaders, but as today’s strategic diplomatic partners.