Indonesia
As Jakarta trims defence, Beijing makes waves in the South China Sea
The Covid-19 outbreak has hit hard for Southeast Asian economies. Anticipating more shocks to come, several countries have already moved to cut defence spending, seeing the…
Indonesia’s democracy is flawed, but do enough people care?
The Covid-19 outbreak has once again exposed Indonesia’s lack of preparedness to handle disasters and emergencies. After weeks of denying the severity of the pandemic, the…
Analyses
West Papua: The Issue That Won't Go Away for Melanesia
West Papuans continue to fight for independence with the support of many Pacific nations. Despite Indonesia’s opposition and the recent impact of COVID-19 on the region, the…
Australia should offer Indonesia crisis insurance – quickly
The Morrison government needs to urgently consider how it might best help Indonesia manage the economic risks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Indonesia faces a perilous outlook…
Indonesia: A health and economic crisis also threatens national unity
The spread of Covid-19 throughout Indonesia is more than a health and economic crisis but a direct challenge to national unity. What began as a problem of resources and hospital…
Covid-19: Jokowi must win back his people’s trust after early missteps
Indonesia troubles are mounting fast. The country continues to see an increase in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases since discovering its first two on 2 March. In the weeks…
Indonesia: The rally of a community facing a coronavirus threat
Indonesians are brilliant in a crisis. In many ways, they have to be, in a country that unfortunately experiences more than its fair share of tragedy. Sitting on the “Ring of Fire…
COVIDcast Episode 4: Crisis looms in Southeast Asia
People collapsing in the street with respiratory problems. Doctors forced to use raincoats in place of proper protective equipment. And one of the world’s highest reported death…
Covid-19: Indonesia’s crises can severely reverberate on neighbours
To date Indonesia has 514 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and growing. This may not sound particularly alarming, given Australia had 1396 according to the most recent figures, but…
Indonesia: Covid-19 crisis reveals cracks in Jokowi’s ad hoc politics
As he rose rapidly from furniture businessman to mayor of Solo and governor of Jakarta to president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo stuck to the same approach to politics: build things,…