Indonesia

Military & Security

Politics

Indonesia's parliament is fast-tracking a controversial military expansion bill that will remove restrictions on active duty military personnel serving in civilian government roles, set for final approval in the coming days, Bloomberg reported on March 19.

Indonesia: Military Set To Expand Influence Over Civilian Governance With New Law

United States

China

Malaysia

Thailand

Europe

Economics

The United States imposed visa sanctions on Thai officials for the Feb. 27 forced repatriation of 40 Uyghurs to China, The New York Times reported on March 15.

Thailand, U.S.: Washington Imposes Unprecedented Visa Sanctions for Uyghur Deportations

Singapore

Vietnam

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Vietnam upgraded ties with Indonesia and Singapore to comprehensive strategic partnerships, Indonesia's and Vietnam's top designation short of an alliance and a label of similar importance to Singapore, Nikkei Asia reported on March 12. 

Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam: Diplomatic Upgrades Strengthen Industry and Trade Ties

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Laos

Myanmar

Philippines

Five diplomats with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations said China was increasingly likely to agree to make the long unrealized South China Sea code of conduct legally binding, The Straits Times reported on Feb. 28.

ASEAN, China: Expectations Rising for South China Sea Code of Conduct

Russia

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and his defense minister in Jakarta to strengthen security ties via increased joint drills and arms procurement, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 25.

Indonesia, Russia: Countries Explore Resuming, Deepening Security Ties 

Indonesia lifted its sales ban on Apple's iPhone 16 after Apple broadened its previous offer to invest $1 billion, establish research and development and training centers, and begin limited accessory manufacturing (particularly for AirTags) in Indonesia, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 25.

Indonesia: Jakarta Lifts Sales Ban of iPhone 16 in New Deal With Apple

Indonesia launched its new Danantara Indonesia sovereign wealth fund, which is projected to manage $900 billion in assets, including an initial $20 billion allocated to artificial intelligence, oil refining, food production, and nickel, bauxite and copper processing, the Jakarta Globe reported on Feb. 24.

Indonesia: Sovereign Wealth Fund Aims To Diversify Investors, Centralize Economic Control

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

Assessments

Timor-Leste

The flags of the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, are seen on display.

U.S.-China Relations

Malaysia's chairmanship will be pivotal in navigating security risks as well as those from U.S. trade restrictions, potential Chinese economic coercion, and supply chain realignments that threaten ASEAN's cohesion and strategic autonomy.

Previewing Malaysia's 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship

Sub-Saharan Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ethiopia

Tanzania

Americas

Brazil

Colombia

Cuba

Haiti

Nicaragua

Venezuela

Iraq

Israel

Jordan

Lebanon

Palestinian Territories

Syria

Yemen

North Macedonia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Serbia

Albania

Kosovo

Ukraine

South Asia

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

India

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

Social Issues

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

Japan

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

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

Germany

France

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

Columns

On Geopolitics

Asia-Pacific

Australia

South Korea

Taiwan

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

Kenya

South Africa

Egypt

Iran

United Arab Emirates

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

Media

Podcasts

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

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

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. 

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

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: Military Set To Expand Influence Over Civilian Governance With New Law

Thailand, U.S.: Washington Imposes Unprecedented Visa Sanctions for Uyghur Deportations

Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam: Diplomatic Upgrades Strengthen Industry and Trade Ties

ASEAN, China: Expectations Rising for South China Sea Code of Conduct

Indonesia, Russia: Countries Explore Resuming, Deepening Security Ties

Indonesia: Jakarta Lifts Sales Ban of iPhone 16 in New Deal With Apple

Indonesia: Sovereign Wealth Fund Aims To Diversify Investors, Centralize Economic Control

Indonesia: Austerity Measure Portends Service Interruptions, Deteriorating Infrastructure

Forecasts

ANALYSES

SECTIONS

Explore

Subscribe

Help & Support