Indonesia
Australia-Indonesia ties: escaping the beefs about boats or Bali
When I was a correspondent for the Financial Times in Jakarta, I often commiserated with my Australian media peers. While they worked hard to carve out time to shed light on the…
Jakarta’s air quality kills its residents – and it’s getting worse
The end of the Ramadan fasting period is marked by a week-long holiday in Indonesia. In Jakarta, this means that almost half the population leave the city to travel back to their…
Jokowi and Modi’s budding bromance
The re-election of India’s Narendra Modi and Indonesia’s Joko “Jokowi” Widodo saw India-Indonesia relations take another step forward after both leaders congratulated each other…
Indonesia: don’t over-react to Jakarta violence
Images of rioting by supporters of defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta have been beamed around the world this week, tainting what was otherwise a free,…
Time to reverse the Indonesian language disaster on our shores
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong’s efforts to set out a vision for Australia’s foreign policy on Asia, embodied in Labor’s “FutureAsia” plans, are admirable. The…
Don’t rely on luck: making the most of the FTA with Indonesia
The Australia Indonesia free trade agreement presents an opportunity to strengthen relations between the two countries, but is Australia ready?
Talks about a free trade agreement…
Indonesia’s elections: the foreign policy challenges that await
Indonesia’s national leaders and politicians have mostly paid more attention to domestic issues for the country’s upcoming general elections compared to regional and global…
Even if Prabowo loses, Sandiaga Uno will win in Indonesia’s election
As Indonesians go to the polls on Wednesday, questions have arisen around the business interests of the man who could be their next vice president.
The youngest among the…
‘No thoughts about apologising’: Indonesia and the 1965–66 killings
In January, during Indonesia’s first presidential debate in the lead up to the Indonesian election next week on 17 April, Indonesian president, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo proclaimed…
Jokowi’s cute political ploy has become a campaign sensation
With a week left until Indonesia’s presidential election, polls are tightening and huge mass rallies show the 193 million voters keen to have their say. For incumbent Joko Widodo,…