Indonesia
An election loophole could tarnish Jokowi’s legacy
Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has enjoyed consistently high approval ratings, better even than India’s popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In recent months, Jokowi…
Indonesia and its bid for OECD membership
In July this year, Indonesia officially announced its interest in becoming a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Indonesia’s Minister of…
Indonesia’s “golden visa” pitch to big-wheel investors
In a June visit to Jakarta, American artificial intelligence entrepreneur Sam Altman remarked to Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister of Maritime and…
The surprising link between piracy and Covid-19
The Singapore Strait is experiencing a spike in maritime piracy attacks, with the incidence increasing from 12 attacks in 2019 to 38 in 2022, and an upwards trend continuing into…
ASEAN’s first joint military exercise
The first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) joint military exercise, code-named ASEAN Solidarity Exercise 2023 (ASEX 2023), has just ended. Hosted by Indonesia from…
Indonesia’s long-term geostrategic ambition: What’s missing?
President Joko Widodo recently unveiled Indonesia’s preliminary long-term development plan (RPJPN) of 2025–2045, which lays out the country’s grand ambition to attain a “Golden…
ASEAN maritime security and what next week’s navy exercises mean
Next week, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will commence joint military exercises, officially called ASEAN Solidarity Exercise Natuna (ASEX 01–Natuna),…
The sticky case of Indonesia, a seized Iranian oil tanker, and legal jurisdiction
The two giant freighters floated “dark” in the open ocean not far from Indonesia. Their positioning transponders switched off, neither tanker displayed a national flag – but one…
The Fix: Explaining Indonesia’s silence in the North Natuna Sea
We’re asking contributors to put together their own short collected observations like this one – and as always, if you’ve got an idea to pitch for The Interpreter, drop a line…
Enduring lessons for Indonesia from a wandering scribe in Europe
In crossing the border from Belgium to the Netherlands, a young man named Djamaluddin Adinegoro extracted the contents of his small travel bag. Because there was a border,…