Indonesia
Can Indonesia lead? Maritime tensions with China escalate
Sadly, for both Australia and Indonesia the New Year has wrought death and destruction with the worst flooding in Jakarta in a decade and an Australian bushfire crisis…
Strength in numbers in the eastern Indian Ocean
India is the most capable resident power in the Indian Ocean, but its expanding military footprint is uneven and reliant on partnerships with likeminded states.
India’s military…
Jokowi’s curious plan for Indonesia’s capital
After winning a second and final term, Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced, “I have no burden now. I’m not thinking about next elections… so I will do whatever it takes for…
With a UN Human Rights Council seat, Indonesia has a choice
Indonesia won a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council this month, elected for a 2020–22 term, having received the backing of 174 countries in a secret ballot, the most…
Indonesia’s new cabinet and its human rights implications
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo this week announced his new cabinet – most notably appointing his rival at both the 2014 and 2019 elections and former military general…
Economic diplomacy: Indonesia trade, ASIO business & deglobalisation
Dealmakers
The latest set piece showdown between the Labor Party leadership and its union base over a trade deal – this time with Indonesia – comes with some overlooked…
The Wiranto attack and the ISIS impact
The stabbing attack last Thursday by an ISIS supporter on Wiranto, Indonesia’s top security minister, was a shock for several reasons. Attacks on senior officials in Indonesia are…
Violence in Papua could get worse
Violence has swept across Indonesian Papua in the last six weeks, starting with racist taunts against Papuan students in East Java, and moving back to Papua where protests against…
Book review: Common enemies
Book review: Common enemies: crime, policy and politics in Australia–Indonesia relations, by Michael McKenzie (Oxford University Press, 2018)
Next month marks the 17th…
Economic diplomacy: Tourism power, defining China, and Vietnam jackpot
Paying the piper
Last Thursday as Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne was talking up the role of values in foreign policy to a business audience in Canberra, Indonesia was…