Trump’s presence at the ASEAN Summit is not about endorsement or approval of his policies. It is, instead, a moment of strategic diplomacy.

Daily conversation in ASEAN now revolves around how to walk a fine line between avoiding overdependence and co-optation by any major power for their own agenda.

As populist strongmen rise across democracies, Camus’ warnings against the corruption of truth and language feel newly relevant.

A policy that should be as uncontroversial as “feed children well” has been turned into a stage for point-scoring, institutional turf wars and media skirmishes.

Indonesia has tried, and failed, to develop a native car brand over the decades, and attempting to revive this developmental model in the current era of energy transition with a globally connected supply chain risks ending in the same fate: merely a flag-waving vanity project.

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa is facing growing backlash from regional governments after the central government decided to slash local transfers in the 2026 state budget to their lowest level since 2016. Purbaya insists the move is crucial to safeguard fiscal stability amid mounting budgetary pressure. Yet, his rationale raises a critical question: Can regional governments withstand the burden of this fiscal tightening?

Asset recovery must be part of a comprehensive fiscal strategy, not a photo opportunity. 

Uniting science and diplomacy is needed to create lasting global impact.

At Cocoyoc, postcolonial nations challenged the West’s obsession with growth. Fifty years later, Brazil’s forest initiative revives that original call for justice and survival.

Ahead of the 47th ASEAN Summit on Oct. 26 in Kuala Lumpur, the Brazilian president shares his views about areas in which his country and the regional grouping can cooperate toward building a sustainable future of prosperity and peace.

What could pass to history as the “Anwar Doctrine” could be a reminder that the Asia Pacific is a true engine of multipolarism, not a disruptor of it.

Financial bubbles are notoriously difficult to define in real time – until the moment they burst.

The world needs development banks and financial institutions to move from post-disaster reimbursement to pre-disaster readiness.

Every regime born of electoral democracy proclaims its faith in meritocracy, a system that values competence over connection, and professionalism over political convenience, but Indonesia tells a different story. 

The governance and controversial politics surrounding Islamic academic institutions came to a head in recent weeks after a three-story pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Sidoarjo, East Java, collapsed last month, killing 67 students and injuring over 170 others.

The bill will only change the method of suppression; whereas in the past silencing was achieved through military intelligence operations, it can now be done via cyber patrols.

President Prabowo’s focus - on food and energy security, defense modernization and economic sovereignty - instinctively recognizes the challenge to transform its founding philosophy, Pancasila, into a living force for competitiveness.

How Indonesia and Brazil have cut down on deforestation.

Many young people today grow up surrounded by misleading narratives, both online and in public discourse, that frame religion through the lens of fear or hostility. 

Many Australian businesses still view Indonesia as "too hard", despite recent reforms offering competitive incentives such as tax holidays, import duty exemptions, and super tax deductions.

Indonesia needs to look closely at the interrelation between productivity and participation as technology moves apace and leaves humans lagging in both jobs and wages to avoid creating the "useless class".

With Indonesia’s national soccer team failing to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Erick Thohir faces intense pressure as chairman of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI). The setback may also threaten his role as Youth and Sports Minister in President Prabowo Subianto’s cabinet, a position now seen as vulnerable given his lack of formal political party backing and the apparent move to expel former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s allies from the government.

If Prabowo wants a mission-driven government, or simply aims to consolidate political support, he should assign new names to new roles rather than overloading the same loyal lieutenants.

The market mood of the moment is whether bubbles are being blown in riskier markets by loose fiscal and monetary policies that lift the inflation horizon for years to come.

Disputes and wars are not the only threats to stability. There are issues that are not limited to one against another, but that affect large swaths of humanity.

An international stabilization force is a central plank in the plans for post-war Gaza that have been put forward by US president Donald Trump.

While the President's address at the 80th UNGS signaled ambition, implementing the 2025-2034 RUPTL with de-risking mechanisms, clear financing solutions, a decisive move away from coal and other detailed steps is the real test.