Indonesia

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In a May Day speech on May 1, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pledged to "take back state assets" controlled by private business, citing the power to do so under Article 33 of Indonesia's 1945 Constitution, The Jakarta Post reported the next day.

Indonesia: President Vows To 'Take Back State Assets' From Private Industry

China

Military & Security

China and Indonesia agreed to deepen maritime and security cooperation in the South China Sea, including new coast guard and law enforcement memorandums and plans for joint counterterrorism exercises, AP reported on April 21.

China, Indonesia: Bilateral Maritime Deals Strengthen Deconfliction Mechanisms

United States

Indonesia announced a suite of policies to shield its export-driven economy from U.S. tariffs and prevent large-scale job losses in vulnerable sectors, the Jakarta Globe reported on April 18.

Indonesia: Jakarta Unveils Policies To Shield Key Export Sectors

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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced his country was willing to temporarily host around 1,000 ''sick, traumatized and wounded'' Palestinians from Gaza, and confirmed that Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had been instructed to begin logistical preparations, Reuters reported April 9.

Indonesia, Palestinian Territories: Jakarta Offers to Temporarily Host Gazan Refugees

Indonesia announced trade concessions to the United States, including reduced tariffs on electronics (2.5% to .5%), steel (5% to 0%) and health equipment (10% to 5%), Reuters reported April 8.

Indonesia, U.S.: Jakarta Announces Concessions Ahead of Trade Mission

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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that Malaysia, as 2025 chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will lead a coordinated bloc-wide response to stiff tariff hikes instituted by the United States on all its members, the South China Morning Post reported April 7. 

Asia-Pacific: ASEAN Chair Malaysia Attempts Coordinated Response to U.S. Tariffs

Timor-Leste

Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states are disproportionately impacted by U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of reciprocal tariffs on April 2, The Wall Street Journal reported April 3. 

ASEAN: Southeast Asia Most Severely Impacted Region by U.S. Tariff Hikes

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

Assessments

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

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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. 

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

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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.

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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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

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

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

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: President Vows To 'Take Back State Assets' From Private Industry

China, Indonesia: Bilateral Maritime Deals Strengthen Deconfliction Mechanisms

Indonesia: Jakarta Unveils Policies To Shield Key Export Sectors

Indonesia, Palestinian Territories: Jakarta Offers to Temporarily Host Gazan Refugees

Indonesia, U.S.: Jakarta Announces Concessions Ahead of Trade Mission

Asia-Pacific: ASEAN Chair Malaysia Attempts Coordinated Response to U.S. Tariffs

ASEAN: Southeast Asia Most Severely Impacted Region by U.S. Tariff Hikes

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

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