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Indonesia’s Prabowo, in China’s Spotlight, Ignores Nation’s Tumult for Global Showmanship

On Wednesday morning in Beijing, as the People’s Liberation Army marched in lockstep through Tiananmen Square, one foreign leader stood conspicuously close to the Chinese and Russian presidents. Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto, clad in a tailored gray suit, sat shoulder to shoulder with Vladimir Putin and Xi ...

Indonesia Deepens Ties With Xinjiang Despite Human Rights Concerns

When the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) opened its doors to Xinjiang’s state-linked conglomerates this month, the event was billed as a milestone in deepening trade ties. Executives from Jakarta and Urumqi spoke glowingly of “mutual respect” ...

China’s Solar Expansion in Indonesia Still Relies on Coal

In West Java, a province just east of Jakarta, Indonesia, a sprawling industrial park is rising. Backed by  Chinese cement giant Hongshi Holding Group, the $5 billion complex promises to produce the solar panels and batteries that the world desperately needs to combat climate change.

Can China and Indonesia Help Save the World’s Rainforests?

Tropical forests around the world are vanishing fast. Logging, mining, and industrial agriculture continue to raze the world’s most carbon-rich ecosystems, accelerating the climate crisis and displacing the people who have protected these forests for generations. Efforts to halt deforestation have largely failed—not because the science is ...

French Fighter Jet Purchase in Indonesia Met with Online Push for Chinese J-10s

Indonesia’s $8.1 billion deal to purchase 42 Rafale fighter jets from France marks a significant step in the country’s military modernization. However, the agreement has also attracted attention in another arena: Indonesia’s information space, where narratives—not just policies—are shaping perceptions of national defense, trade, and foreign ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Revealing Reactions to China’s Festival of Optics

In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...

Indonesia Elevates Security Concerns in ASEAN–China Talks

Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono’s recent remarks at the ASEAN–China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur mark a welcome and necessary development in regional diplomacy. Amid long-standing discussions dominated by trade and economic cooperation, his decision to highlight transnational crime and maritime security brings long-overdue attention to issues ...

Indonesia’s Over-Reliance on China is a Warning for Other Global South Countries

Indonesia thought it was building a future. Instead, it built someone else’s supply chain. Last month, China imposed a 20% anti-dumping tariff on stainless steel from Indonesia, accusing Jakarta of undercutting prices and threatening Chinese producers. The penalty will remain ...

Indonesia and China’s Battery Alliance Must Be Built on Sustainability

In a bold display of ambition and diplomacy, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto stood beside Chinese executives last week to break ground on what is touted as Asia’s largest integrated electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem. Backed by $5.9 billion in ...

China’s Big Bet on Indonesian Nickel Faces a Harsh Reckoning

For years, China raced to secure the critical minerals needed to fuel its economy and the global clean energy transition. Nickel was supposed to be one of the surest bets. Now, one of China’s largest investments in Indonesia’s nickel industry is unraveling—and with it, some of the ...

China Eases Transit Rules for Indonesians. Jakarta Should Push for More.

China’s recent inclusion of Indonesia in its 240-hour visa-free transit program is a notable, if not entirely surprising, development. While Indonesia is now among the 55 countries benefiting from this arrangement, the move signals a step forward in the broader relationship between the two nations. For ...

ASEAN, Gulf, and China Signal New Phase in Global South Climate Leadership

For decades, global climate action has been largely shaped by the Global North—through frameworks like the Paris Agreement and funding mechanisms such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P). These initiatives have set the tone, the goals, and the financial flows, often leaving countries in the Global ...

Why the China–ASEAN–GCC Summit Matters and What Comes Next

The recent China–ASEAN–GCC summit, held for the first time this May, was more than a symbolic gathering. It marked a formalization of growing and increasingly institutionalized cooperation among the three regions. Bringing together China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), ...
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