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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and U.S. President Joe Biden met for an official state visit in Washington and discussed security, trade, supply chain diversification and climate resilience, Reuters reported on Nov. 12.

Indonesia, U.S.: Presidents Meet, Create Frameworks for Future Collaboration

China

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

Military & Security

Science & Technology

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Chinese President Xi Jinping oversaw the signing of $10 billion worth of deals across multiple sectors including green energy, technology, infrastructure, critical minerals, fisheries and mining, Reuters reported on Nov. 10. 

China, Indonesia: Countries Reach $10B in Deals but Produce Diplomatic Headache

Indonesia's Maritime Security Agency says it drove Chinese coast guard vessels out of Indonesia's exclusive economic zone around the Natuna Islands twice in a week, once on Oct. 21 and again on Oct. 23, Reuters reported on Oct. 24.

Indonesia, China: Two Maritime Incidents in First Week of Presidential Administration

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The BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, adopted its summit declaration, which noted the creation of a BRICS "partner country" status, Reuters reported on Oct. 23.

BRICS: Bloc Creates Partner Status, Extends Status to 13 Countries

New Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto formally unveiled his Cabinet, which is the largest in the country's history, totalling 56 ministers and 53 deputy ministers, the South China Morning Post reported on Oct. 23.

Indonesia: Cabinet Unveiled as Largest Party Stays in Opposition

Outgoing Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo told an investment forum that Indonesia's resource nationalism policies will extend beyond mining to the agricultural sector, including products like coffee, cocoa and seaweed, the Jakarta Globe reported on Oct. 8.

Indonesia: Resource Nationalism Likely To Expand to Agricultural Sector

Europe

The European Commission revealed on Oct. 2 that it would propose a delay of 12 months for its deforestation regulation -- due to come into force on Dec. 30 -- which requires companies importing goods like beef, soy and palm oil to map supply chains down to the raw material level to reduce deforestation, Nikkei Asia reported on Oct. 3.

EU, Malaysia, Indonesia: Deforestation Law Delay Offers Reprieve to Palm Oil

Indonesia's five-year parliamentary term began on Oct. 1, and six of the nine parties represented have already committed to joining a coalition with incoming President Subianto Prabowo's Gerindra Party, giving him an 81% supermajority, Channel News Asia reported on Oct. 2.

Indonesia: New Legislature a Boon to Incoming President

Assessments

Kenya

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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.

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

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. 

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

Columns

On Geopolitics

Australia

Fiji

Japan

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United Kingdom

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

U.S.-China Relations

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

An APK rally March 29, 2024, in Istanbul. Nationwide municipal elections occur March 31, in which the ruling AKP will likely try to regain the mayoralties of large cities including Ankara and Istanbul.

The Weekly Rundown: Turkish Municipal Elections, Blinken Goes to Europe

Iraq

Israel

Palestinian Territories

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with its Crew Dragon capsule launches from Launch Complex 39A during Axiom's third private mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Jan. 18, 2024.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: A Vote in Indonesia, U.S.-Iraq Military Negotiations and a U.S. Moon Mission

The three candidates running in Indonesia's 2024 presidential race -- Anies Baswedan (left), Prabowo Subianto (center) and Ganjar Pranowo (right) -- attend a debate in Jakarta on Feb. 4, 2024. 

Outgoing President Jokowi's efforts to consolidate power and his preferred successor's history of authoritarianism risk eroding the rule of law in the world's third-largest democracy.

Previewing Indonesia's Presidential Election

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech at the gala dinner for the ASEAN-Japan commemorative summit in Tokyo on Dec. 17, 2023. 

Over the next year, Tokyo will provide ASEAN countries with military equipment and more infrastructure investment, which will raise threat perceptions and further deteriorate Japan's ties with China.

The Implications of Japan's Growing Interest in Southeast Asia

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, U.S.: Presidents Meet, Create Frameworks for Future Collaboration

China, Indonesia: Countries Reach $10B in Deals but Produce Diplomatic Headache

Indonesia, China: Two Maritime Incidents in First Week of Presidential Administration

BRICS: Bloc Creates Partner Status, Extends Status to 13 Countries

Indonesia: Cabinet Unveiled as Largest Party Stays in Opposition

Indonesia: Resource Nationalism Likely To Expand to Agricultural Sector

EU, Malaysia, Indonesia: Deforestation Law Delay Offers Reprieve to Palm Oil

Indonesia: New Legislature a Boon to Incoming President

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