From pandemic and economic slowdown to climate change and food and energy shortages, our world is in an age of turbulence. Unfortunately, the mood is not jubilant for international cooperation now. Great power rivalry and the war in Ukraine have polarized the world into opposing blocs. Trust deficits between countries are pervasive and zero-sum thinking … Read more
Advertisement Indonesia’s top diplomat warned Tuesday of the threat posed by nuclear weapons, saying that Southeast Asia is “one miscalculation away from apocalypse” and pressing for world powers to sign a treaty to keep the region free from such arms. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi raised the alarm ahead of a two-day summit of the … Read more
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi of Indonesia speaks at the press conference following the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb. 4, 2023. Credit: Facebook/ASEAN Secretariat Advertisement Indonesia is increasing its efforts to implement its plan to end the conflict in Myanmar, ahead of chairing a string of important meetings on the issue this week, … Read more
Advertisement Is there anything that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) can do to address the crisis in Myanmar? The question once again presented itself after the conclusion of the bloc’s summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, last Thursday. In the Chairman’s Statement issued at the close of the meeting, the bloc’s members said that … Read more
Advertisement Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo somberly acknowledged to fellow Southeast Asian leaders Thursday that no progress has been made to end the civil strife gripping Myanmar and renewed a call for an end to the violence, including a recent airstrike a rights group called an “apparent war crime.” “I have to be honest,” Jokowi … Read more
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, center, stands with other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to listen to the ASEAN anthem during the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, Pool Advertisement Southeast Asian leaders condemned an armed attack on an aid … Read more
Advertisement Enough of Indonesia’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has now elapsed that it is fair to ask how much the country has achieved in bringing the conflict in Myanmar to an end. Five months after taking the ceremonial gavel from last year’s chair, Cambodia, the country’s political crisis shows no … Read more