EU free trade talks to wrap up this month
South-East Asia's largest economy and the European Union are expected to conclude talks over an economic cooperation deal that will relax trade barriers this month, Jakarta's top economic minister said.
Indonesia and the 27-member European bloc have been negotiating since 2016 to strike a deal that is expected to increase trade and investment.
Ties have been frayed by a proposed import ban on products linked to deforestation into the EU that has angered Indonesia because it is a major palm oil exporter.
However, Jakarta's chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto told an online briefing on Saturday that talks were nearing their conclusion.
'We already have entered the final round. This means that we have resolved almost all issues,' Airlangga told reporters.
He said in an earlier statement Indonesia and the EU would announce the conclusion of the negotiations by the end of June.
Airlangga did not disclose any agreements that would be part of the deal.
He said the next step was a legal drafting process to be completed in a 'short time' before the two parties could ratify the agreement. — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
12 minutes ago
- The Sun
NATO Adapts to Ukraine's Drone Tactics in Modern Warfare
BRUSSELS: Ukraine's 'creativity', including its massive 'Spider's web' drone attack deep inside Russia, holds profound lessons for Western militaries, the top NATO commander overseeing battlefield innovation told AFP. 'What the Ukrainians did in Russia was a Trojan horse -- and the trojan horse was thousands of years ago,' French Admiral Pierre Vandier, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, said in an interview. 'Today, we see this kind of tactic being reinvented by technical and industrial creativity.' Vandier said the operation showed how crucial innovation and adaptation were for victory, as modern warfare changes at lightning speed. 'It was a real coup.' 'We are entering a dynamic era where armies must rely on both major planning but also adaptive planning,' the navy commander said. 'We will witness continuous innovation where, week by week, month by month or year by year, we will be able to invent things we hadn't anticipated.' 'Must act quickly' Faced with the Russian threat, NATO this week adopted new objectives for its defence capabilities to ensure it will be able to repel Moscow. But Western intelligence agencies have warned that the Kremlin is reconstituting its forces at a pace far outstripping NATO and could be ready to attack the alliance in as little as four years. 'Time is truly a crucial parameter. We must act quickly,' Vandier said. The admiral, who previously commanded France's flagship Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier, said NATO needed to amass the forces to dissuade any adversary from trying an attack. 'When you say 'I'm defending myself', you have the weapons to defend. When you say you deter, you have the weapons to deter,' he said. 'That's what should prevent war -- making the adversary think: 'Tomorrow morning, I won't win.' NATO countries under pressure from US President Donald Trump are expected to agree a major increase in their defence spending target at a summit in The Hague this month. That should see a dramatic surge in spending on military hardware. But if cheap Ukrainian drones can inflict billions of dollars in damage on Russian bombers, is it still worth investing in vastly expensive systems? 'No-one in the military sphere will tell you that we can do without what we'll call traditional equipment,' Vandier said. 'However, we are certain we need new equipment to complement it.' Officials say that over 70 percent of battlefield casualties in Ukraine are caused by drones. But while drones are indispensable in modern warfare, they are not omnipotent. 'Today, you won't cross the Atlantic with a 10-meter-long (33-foot-long) drone. You won't easily locate submarines with such tools,' Vandier said. 'If they accompany your large platforms, you'll be able to achieve much better results at much lower costs.' Integrating new technologies The admiral, who works out of NATO's US base in Norfolk, Virginia, said the major challenge was 'integrating new technologies and new combat methods, based on what we've witnessed in Ukraine'. NATO and Ukraine have established a centre in Poland designed to help the alliance learn lessons from Russia's invasion of its neighbour. Artificial Intelligence and robotics are also increasingly having an impact and are set to help reshape the battlefield. 'All modern armies will have piloted and non-piloted capabilities,' Vandier said. 'It's much more efficient to deliver ammunition with a ground robot than with a squad of soldiers who could face a 155-millimeter (six-inch) shell.' This transformation of military capabilities within the alliance, which NATO aims to expand by at least 30 percent over coming years, will come at a significant cost, estimated in hundreds of billions of euros (dollars). Vandier insisted that while the financial effort was 'substantial' it was 'fully realistic'. 'Today, we have all the tools. We have the engineering. We have the expertise. We have the technology. So, we need to get started,' he said. ob/del/ec/gil
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Chinese aircraft carrier enters Japan's economic waters: Tokyo
TOKYO: A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan's economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, Tokyo's defence ministry said Monday. The Liaoning carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed around 300 kilometres (190 miles) southwest of Japan's easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a Japanese defence ministry spokesman told AFP. 'We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,' the spokesman said. China's growing military clout and use of naval and air assets to press disputed territorial claims have rattled the United States and its allies in the Asia pacific region. Tokyo's chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Monday that the government had 'conveyed an appropriate message to the Chinese side' without saying it had lodged a formal protest. After the Liaoning and its accompanying vessels exited Japan's EEZ, fighter jets and helicopters conducted take-offs and landings on Sunday, the ministry statement said. Japan deployed its warship Haguro to the area to monitor the situation, it added. Last month, the Liaoning sailed between two southern Japanese islands within the EEZ, from the East China Sea into the Pacific while conducting take-offs and landings on deck, the ministry said. The carrier in September last year sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan and entered Japan's contiguous waters, an area up to 24 nautical miles from its coast. At the time Tokyo called the move 'unacceptable' and expressed 'serious concerns' to Beijing. Under international law, a state has rights to the management of natural resources and other economic activities within its EEZ, which is within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of its coastline. Late last month, Tokyo accused Beijing of conducting unnotified maritime scientific research within its EEZ, near the remote Pacific atoll of Okinotori.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
China's Carrier Enters Japan's EEZ, Conducts Fighter Drills
TOKYO: A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan's economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, Tokyo's defence ministry said Monday. The Liaoning carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed around 300 kilometres (190 miles) southwest of Japan's easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a Japanese defence ministry spokesman told AFP. 'We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,' the spokesman said. China's growing military clout and use of naval and air assets to press disputed territorial claims have rattled the United States and its allies in the Asia pacific region. Tokyo's chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Monday that the government had 'conveyed an appropriate message to the Chinese side' without saying it had lodged a formal protest. After the Liaoning and its accompanying vessels exited Japan's EEZ, fighter jets and helicopters conducted take-offs and landings on Sunday, the ministry statement said. Japan deployed its warship Haguro to the area to monitor the situation, it added. Last month, the Liaoning sailed between two southern Japanese islands within the EEZ, from the East China Sea into the Pacific while conducting take-offs and landings on deck, the ministry said. The carrier in September last year sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan and entered Japan's contiguous waters, an area up to 24 nautical miles from its coast. At the time Tokyo called the move 'unacceptable' and expressed 'serious concerns' to Beijing. Under international law, a state has rights to the management of natural resources and other economic activities within its EEZ, which is within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of its coastline. Late last month, Tokyo accused Beijing of conducting unnotified maritime scientific research within its EEZ, near the remote Pacific atoll of Okinotori.
