Indonesia

Economics

Indonesia's government ministries began slashing budgets in response to  President Prabowo Subianto's order to cut $19 billion in government spending in an attempt to counterbalance the cost of his flagship free school meal program, Reuters reported on Feb. 7. 

Indonesia: Austerity Measure Portends Service Interruptions, Deteriorating Infrastructure

Politics

Lawmakers allied with Indonesian President Subianto Prabowo are drafting legislation to lift the ban on appointing active-duty military officers to senior government positions, Reuters reported Jan. 28.

Indonesia: Lawmakers Seek to Lift Ban on Active-Duty Officers in Government Amid Expanding Military Roles

India

Environment, Science & Technology

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Science & Technology

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto signed several cooperation agreements covering health, defense, digital technology and maritime affairs to strengthen bilateral ties, The Hindu reported on Jan. 25.

India, Indonesia: Leaders Sign Cooperation Agreements

China

Malaysia

Malaysia announced plans to reform its anti-dumping legislation to counter an influx of cheap Chinese goods, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 17.

Malaysia, Indonesia: Chinese Dumping Undermines Regional Trade Amid Growing Economic Pressure

Japan

Japan and Indonesia agreed to strengthen security cooperation, including joint development of maritime defense capabilities, The Asahi Shimbun reported on Jan. 13. 

Japan, Indonesia: Maritime Defense, Food Security Deals Signed

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba began a four-day trip to Malaysia and Indonesia, where he will hold separate summits with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Subianto Prabowo, The Japan Times reported Jan. 9.

Japan: Prime Minister Seeks Trade, Defense Upgrades in Visits to Malaysia and Indonesia 

Australian bank Macquarie warned in a client note that Indonesia's proposed cuts to nickel mining quotas could reduce overall global nickel supply by 35%, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 8.

Indonesia: Proposed Nickel Quota Cut Could Reduce Global Supply by 35%

BRICS chair Brazil announced Indonesia's formal membership in the trade bloc following the unanimous endorsement of the group's member states, the Jakarta Globe reported on Jan. 6. 

Indonesia: Country Becomes Newest Fully Fledged BRICS Member

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The lobby of the headquarters for the U.S. Agency for International Development is seen on Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 

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Cuts to U.S.-funded humanitarian and development programs could worsen global health outcomes, destabilize security environments, accelerate democratic backsliding, and create opportunities for rival powers to expand their influence.

The Global Implications of Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts

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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hold a joint press conference on Jan. 10, 2025.

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Japan is intensifying its diplomatic and security engagement in Southeast Asia through defense, trade and infrastructure agreements to counterbalance China and enhance regional stability.

Ishiba Strengthens Japan's Role in Southeast Asia With Defense and Trade Deals

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The West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 17 in Washington. Donald Trump will be inaugurated as U.S. president on Jan. 20.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: The Gaza Ceasefire, Trump's Inauguration

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U.S. President Joe Biden gestures to reporters after landing on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C. 

Trump's more aggressive and transactional approach could deliver quick wins for the U.S.'s position in the region, though it could also strain ties with key partners. 

Trump's Asia-Pacific Approach Will Test Biden's Gains

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Moldova

Vehicles pass by a banner thanking outgoing Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and congratulating President-elect Prabowo Subianto and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka ahead of their Oct. 20 inauguration in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 17, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: An Impeachment Case in Kenya, an Inauguration in Indonesia

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What are the major issues on Subianto's policy agenda? 

Essential Geopolitics: What to Expect from Indonesia's New President

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Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (center) and other ASEAN leaders take part in the 2024 ASEAN summit in Vientiane on Oct. 9, 2024. 

The deals signed at the summit reflect an increasing focus on economic integration amid the Southeast Asian bloc's continued failure to find consensus on security issues.

Reviewing the 2024 ASEAN Summit

Indonesian Defense Minister and President-elect Prabowo Subianto (center) is seen next to outgoing President Joko Widodo (right) in the parliament building in Jakarta on Aug. 16, 2024. 

The defense minister-turned-president will maintain his predecessor's efforts to bolster Indonesia's economy while adopting a more hawkish stance abroad, particularly on the country's territorial dispute with China.

In Indonesia, Previewing the Prabowo Presidency

The flags of ASEAN members are displayed at a naval base during the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise in Batam, Natuna regency, Riau Islands province, Indonesia, on Sept. 20, 2023. 

ASEAN's economic and geopolitical diversity will impede significant progress toward deeper integration, despite members' intention to collaborate more closely.

Economic and Geopolitical Diversity Hinders ASEAN's Path to Deeper Integration

People gather in front of the East Java Provincial Parliament in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Aug. 23, 2024, as they protest against a move to overturn a Constitutional Court decision on election rules. 

The backlash against a proposed measure that would let the outgoing president's son run for Jakarta's deputy governorship highlights a growing power struggle between various branches of Indonesia's government.

Jokowi's Dynastic Ambitions Risk Plunging Indonesia Into Crisis

An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2022, shows solar panels at the Sao Mai solar energy plant in Vietnam’s An Giang province. 

Energy

Several ASEAN countries are on track to develop substantial renewable power capacities in the short term, but technical, political and financial constraints, coupled with incentives to keep burning fossil fuels, will impede long-term decarbonization goals.

The Challenges Facing Southeast Asia's Decarbonization

Fiji

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A 3D rendering of Southeast Asia from space at night with city lights showing Southeast Asian cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

In the Asia-Pacific, countries are increasingly pursuing complex networks of political, economic and defense ties as part of a burgeoning "multi-alignment" strategy that seeks to avoid U.S.-China strategic competition.

Examining 'Multi-Alignment' in the Asia-Pacific

The geopolitical foundation of modern Indonesia is the seas and ports that integrate the country's islands that stretch from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. Of Indonesia's more than 17,000 islands, about 6,000 are populated by more than 300 ethnolinguistic cultures. The Dutch first consolidated large parts of modern Indonesia by the 19th century, and maintaining political unity of its culturally diverse islands poses the nation's primary geographic challenge. Indonesia's main island, Java, is home to about 60 percent of the country's population, with its largest ethnic group being the Javanese. Java is also Indonesia's agricultural heartland, producing coffee, sugarcane, rubber and rice. A spine of east-west volcanic mountains runs along the southern reaches of the island. These mountains orient Java's population to the north, toward the Java Sea. The Java Sea is the core of Indonesia, with the Karimata Strait, the Makassar Strait and the Flores Sea linking the main island of Java to its outer islands, stretching from Sumatra to Sulawesi to western New Guinea. These islands have been critical sources of oil, natural gas, copper and tin. Indonesia's disconnected landmasses and vast maritime stretches present difficulties and limitations to centralized control, as seen with the independence of East Timor in the 1990s and ongoing separatist concerns in Aceh and Irian Jaya. Holding this island nation together has required a strong central authority to balance regional aspirations and national interests &mdash; although it has tried to balance tight control with empowerment of regions in recent decades. Ultimately, Indonesia is burdened by the conflicting requirements of managing the populations of each island while expending resources to control its maritime core.

SITUATION REPORTS

Indonesia: Austerity Measure Portends Service Interruptions, Deteriorating Infrastructure

Indonesia: Lawmakers Seek to Lift Ban on Active-Duty Officers in Government Amid Expanding Military Roles

India, Indonesia: Leaders Sign Cooperation Agreements

Malaysia, Indonesia: Chinese Dumping Undermines Regional Trade Amid Growing Economic Pressure

Japan, Indonesia: Maritime Defense, Food Security Deals Signed

Japan: Prime Minister Seeks Trade, Defense Upgrades in Visits to Malaysia and Indonesia

Indonesia: Proposed Nickel Quota Cut Could Reduce Global Supply by 35%

Indonesia: Country Becomes Newest Fully Fledged BRICS Member

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