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  • 19 hours ago
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Maldives
    • Sri Lanka
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security

    Putting the “Indo” in Indo-Pacific, Australia’s westward pivot

    Rushali Saha
    Embassy openings and patrol boat gifts signal Canberra's recognition that Indian Ocean influence requires active engagement.
  • 3 Jun 2025
    • Indonesia

    The real message Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto delivered to China’s Li Qiang

    Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat , Yeta Purnama
    Jakarta wants to find its own value from superpower competition without picking a winner.
  • 22 May 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Australia

    Australia-Indonesia relations: From Keating’s bold vision to Albanese’s careful pragmatism

    Greg Earl
    Prime ministerial language on Indonesia over three decades shows some welcome signs of stability and some warning signs of stasis.
  • 14 May 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Australia
    • Technology

    A critical mineral match for Australia and Indonesia

    Robert Walker , Hilman Palaon
    Downstreaming diplomacy and shared interests to secure the global supply of nickel and lithium should be the focus for Anthony Albanese’s trip to Jakarta.
  • 22 Apr 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • Russia

    Facts gone missing in Australia’s debate about Indonesia-Russia basing deal

    Susannah Patton
    A partisan contest about military ties between Russia and Indonesia leaves Australians none the wiser.
  • 11 Apr 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Sustainability

    From park rangers to armed guards: Indonesia takes a risky approach to forest protection

    Mohd. Yunus
    A militarised approach to conservation risks creating a climate of fear rather than fostering genuine collaboration.
  • 10 Apr 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Defence & Security

    Big changes off a low base: Indonesia’s military modernisation

    Monty Pounder
    As president after five years as defence minister, Prabowo may prove to offer an unusually long period of continuity in Indonesia’s defence policy.
  • 8 Apr 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Australia
    • Diplomacy

    Australia and Southeast Asia: Why strategic balance still matters

    Hangga Fathana
    Whoever wins the coming Australian election will do well to listen, consult, and show up in the region it calls home.
  • 3 Apr 2025
    • Asean
    • Indonesia
    • Australia

    What difference will the election outcome make to Australia ties with Southeast Asia?

    Susannah Patton
    Four issues to watch in how each party would approach the region, and how countries could react.
  • 24 Mar 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • Maritime Security

    Indonesia and Australia: Defence cooperation under Prabowo

    Edna C. Pattisina
    For Australia, walking the talk will be critical to a sustainable strategic relationship that benefits both nations.
  • 21 Mar 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Indonesia’s EV gamble: Green on the surface, dirty underneath

    Robert Walker , Hilman Palaon
    Efforts to capitalise on nickel dominance has carried an environmental cost.
  • 20 Mar 2025
    • Asia
    • Indonesia
    • Vietnam
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Southeast Asia’s critical role as a green industrial leader

    Trang Nguyen , Jannata (Egi) Giwangkara
    The region’s industrial transformation remains the key for long-term economic prosperity – and the world’s climate goals.
  • 6 Mar 2025
    • Aid & Development
    • Cambodia
    • Indonesia
    • Laos
    • Myanmar
    • Philippines
    • Singapore
    • Thailand
    • Timor-Leste
    • Vietnam
    • Australia

    Missed signals: What Southeast Asia wants vs what Australia delivers

    Mira Sulistiyanto
    With US aid disappearing, a new report shows Australia has a chance to align development cooperation with the region’s challenges and Australia’s strengths.
  • 17 Feb 2025
    • Asean
    • Indonesia
    • Climate change

    Indonesia’s climate retreat puts the region’s green future at risk

    Mutiara Indriani
    Jakarta’s ambivalence is a litmus test for ASEAN’s climate solidarity.
  • 31 Jan 2025
    • Asean
    • Indonesia

    Indonesia must reclaim its ASEAN leadership

    Klaus Heinrich Raditio
    Jakarta’s deft powers of shuttle diplomacy could revive a bloc that is increasingly at risk of becoming irrelevant.
  • 23 Jan 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Technology

    Nice try, Apple, but Indonesia wants a restart

    Hilman Palaon
    The tech giant’s US$1 billion investment won’t be enough to lift the ban in Indonesia.
  • 20 Jan 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Sustainability

    Indonesia: The downstreaming dilemma

    Hilman Palaon , Robert Walker
    The nickel boom in Southeast Sulawesi is a paradox – reshaping the region while sidelining locals.
  • 17 Jan 2025
    • Indonesia

    The scorecard for Prabowo’s first 100 days? “Confused”

    Erin Cook
    Prabowo is deeply invested in areas of his interest but the policies that fall outside are unlikely to get much of a look-in from the president.
  • 18 Dec 2024
    • Aid & Development
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Taiwan
    • Russia
    • Trade
    • Climate change
    • Technology
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • United States
    • Southeast Asia

    What I’ll be watching for in 2025

    Susannah Patton , Melanie Pill , Sam Roggeveen , Robert Walker , Mihai Sora , Hilman Palaon , Oliver Nobetau
    Lowy researchers gaze at their crystal balls – with questions, more than answers, for the year ahead.
  • 16 Dec 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesia and the Death Penalty
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
    • Southeast Asia
    • Human rights
    • International law
    • United Nations

    Southeast Asia’s death penalty laws: The ultimate political game

    Kirsten Han
    The region’s diverse policies on executions are about more than the war on crime.
  • 11 Dec 2024
    • Indonesia

    Indonesian foreign policy is still free, more active

    Rushali Saha
    Equating Jakarta’s moves with either a “pro-Beijing” or “pro-US” orientation indicates a fundamental misreading of the concept of non-alignment.
  • 27 Nov 2024
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • South China Sea

    Understanding Prabowo’s Natunas gambit with China

    Emirza Adi Syailendra
    Acknowledging a dispute exists does not amount to a tacit endorsement of one side’s claim.
  • 26 Nov 2024
    • Indonesia
    • BRICS

    Joining BRICS+ is not in Indonesia’s interests

    Gufron Gozali , M. Habib Pashya
    An economic ambition will cloud broader impressions of joining what is an inescapably revisionist bloc.
  • 25 Nov 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Sustainability

    Cutting coal power: Indonesia's test case for turning a climate pledge into reality

    Tiza Mafira , Khalifa Akbar
    The technical, financial and legal hurdles to get an Indonesian coal-fired power plant off the grid.
  • 14 Nov 2024
    • Asia
    • China
    • Indonesia

    Check, but not check-mate: Indonesia’s nine-dash line mistake

    Ristian Supriyanto
    China has won a diplomatic battle with Indonesia, but not the war over maritime claims in the South China Sea.
  • 11 Nov 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Australia

    The cost of Albanese skipping Prabowo’s inauguration

    Susannah Patton
    Bilateral ties won’t be adversely affected, but errors like this change the way Australia is seen in the region.
  • 6 Nov 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Trade
    • Technology

    Indonesia takes a bite out of Apple, and sets itself a test for future investment

    Hilman Palaon
    The Local Content Requirement may only be a temporary setback for the tech giant, but it could raise concerns among potential foreign investors.
  • 4 Nov 2024
    • Asean
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • China's Economy
    • Chinese Trade
    • Indonesia
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
    • Trade

    ASEAN countries confront Chinese export glut

    Henry Storey
    Left unchecked, a saturation of Chinese goods may complicate what has otherwise been a very compelling ASEAN growth story.
  • 1 Nov 2024
    • Indonesia
    • BRICS

    Understanding Indonesia’s decision to (eventually) join BRICS

    Klaus Heinrich Raditio
    Prabowo doesn’t carry the same wariness of his predecessor – but nor is he going along with Russia and China’s agenda.
  • 31 Oct 2024
    • Bangladesh
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand

    Asia’s year of electoral upsets

    Greg Earl
    The poor result for the region’s most successful electoral machine in Japan on Sunday has only underlined a surprisingly bad year for incumbents across Asia.
  • 25 Oct 2024
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Defence & Security

    Prabowo’s China challenge around the Natuna Islands

    Rahman Yaacob
    An early confrontation might not be the message first thought.
  • 25 Oct 2024
    • Indonesia
    • South Korea

    South Korea-Indonesia: How a viral moment could have real-world consequences

    Jeremiah Edbert Grifith Sihite , Hidan Kim
    Warm feelings and popular culture can only go so far.
  • 18 Oct 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Australia

    How Australia’s foreign student cap could erode its regional influence: An Indonesian view

    Hangga Fathana
    Indonesians educated in Australian universities include senior ministers and officials. Goodwill has its own value.
  • 15 Oct 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesia's Economy
    • Malaysia
    • European Union
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    The ripple effects of EU deforestation laws in Southeast Asia

    Mohd. Yunus
    The region's palm oil industry needs to move with the times. But meeting the challenges will take a group effort.
  • 14 Oct 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Defence & Security

    The risk of a Timor-like intervention still shapes Indonesia’s view of security

    Rahman Yaacob
    As Prabowo Subianto prepares to take the reins, it’s doubtful that China worries him most.
  • 9 Oct 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesian Elections

    Who’s in, who’s up, and who’s really representing who in Indonesia’s regional elections?

    Erin Cook
    The form guide to the 27 November elections with a cascade of candidates vying for key jobs.
  • 19 Sep 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesian Elections

    Indonesia: Jokowi’s real legacy is an unpredictable successor

    Greg Earl
    From a stunted democracy, to a human capital deficit, and too much reliance on China, Prabowo Subianto has been handed a curate’s egg, writes Greg Earl for his “Economic diplomacy” column from the ANU Indonesia Update.
  • 11 Sep 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security

    A step, not a leap: Assessing the Indonesia-Australia Defence Cooperation Agreement

    Yohanes Sulaiman
    As a statement of neighbourly ties, the deal is a good one. But temper expectations.
  • 9 Sep 2024
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Thailand
    • Australia
    • Australia and Asia

    China’s rise in Southeast Asia is bringing in a golden age for Australia

    Susannah Patton
    Disquiet about Beijing’s growing presence is motivating countries across the region to seek deeper cooperation with Canberra.
  • 30 Aug 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Energy
    • Sustainability

    The right road to renewable biofuel in Indonesia

    Hidayatul Mustafidah Rohmawati , Michael Suryaprawira
    Taking directions from big producers in the United States and Brazil.
  • 27 Aug 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Defence & Security

    Indonesia pledges closer defence ties with Australia one day – military drills with China the next

    Rahman Yaacob
    Jakarta carries risks while seeking the rewards of its friends to all approach to defence diplomacy.
  • 27 Aug 2024
    • Indonesia

    Prabowo’s capitulation in Constitutional Court crisis only a partial victory

    Nava Nuraniyah
    An apparent win for civil society masks elite political manoeuvring as Indonesia’s local elections loom.
  • 23 Aug 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Resource security

    A glimpse into Indonesia's nickel policy

    Hilman Palaon , Robert Walker
    China has become a key partner, but locals pay the price and need more support to realise the benefits.
  • 22 Aug 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesia's Economy
    • Australia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Trade

    Economic diplomacy: Playing defence with Prabowo

    Greg Earl
    New security cooperation with Indonesia does not make up for the slow progress in building fresh economic links.
  • 22 Aug 2024
    • Asean
    • Indonesia
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    Southeast Asia’s great haze: Laggards and leaders

    Pia Dannhauer
    Indonesia is the region’s biggest producer of haze, so why was it the last to ratify ASEAN’s pollution prevention agreement?
  • 21 Aug 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesian Elections

    Indonesia needs a strong opposition that can inspire hope, and look cool while doing it

    Alldo Fellix Januardy , Abigail Limuria
    Democratic backsliding in Southeast Asia’s largest country will set a poor example for the region.
  • 20 Aug 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesia's Economy
    • Resource security

    Looking back at Jokowi’s decade of resource nationalism

    Eve Warburton
    How successful were the Indonesian president’s efforts to localise and industrialise the country’s natural commodities?
  • 19 Aug 2024
    • Indonesia

    Prabowo puts the “i” in foreign policy

    Ahmad Rizky M. Umar
    Indonesia’s president-elect has already put his personal touch on display.
  • 1 Aug 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesia's Economy
    • Migration

    Nationalism vs globalism: Making the case for Indonesian dual citizenship

    Alldo Fellix Januardy , Agata Jacqueline Paramesvari
    A lack of rights for Indonesians living and working abroad means they cannot truly be citizens of the world.
  • 23 Jul 2024
    • Asean
    • Indonesia
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security

    ASEAN centrality stands in the way of an Indonesia-Australia alliance

    Pia Dannhauer
    While Jakarta’s non-alignment approach makes a pact unlikely any time soon, common strategic objectives can still be achieved.
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