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Nikkei Asia
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
ASEAN can be mediator in US-China rivalry: Indonesia's Yudhoyono
TOKYO -- With rivalries among the U.S., China and other powers intensifying, ASEAN can play the role of mediator by using the Southeast Asian bloc's focus on building internal consensus, former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told Nikkei. Yudhoyono became Indonesia's first directly elected president in 2004, spearheading critical democratic reforms until he left office a decade later. Edited excerpts from the interview follow.
South China Morning Post
19-04-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
From Bandung to Brics: Indonesia's evolving quest for Global South autonomy
In April 1955, a city in West Java became the unassuming stage for a revolution in diplomacy. Leaders from 29 nations across Asia and Africa, most newly independent, converged in Bandung, Indonesia , to chart a path free from the Cold War's suffocating binaries. Advertisement Seven decades later, the legacy of that gathering – known as the Bandung Conference – still lingers, though the world it sought to reshape has transformed beyond recognition. Now, with multipolarity re-emerging as a driving geopolitical force, the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) are being tested in ways its architects could not have foreseen. Indonesia's founding president Sukarno described the Asia-Africa Conference at Bandung as 'the first intercontinental conference of coloured peoples in the history of mankind'. It promoted a platform of 10 principles including peaceful coexistence, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, equality among nations, non-aggression, and non-interference in domestic affairs. This year marks the 70th anniversary of that summit, but commemorations are expected to be subdued. While Indonesia celebrated the 50th and 60th anniversaries with grand gatherings under former presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo , the country's foreign ministry has announced there will be no 'major' event to mark the occasion this time. Indonesia's then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (centre) with China's Hu Jintao (left), India's Manmohan Singh (right) and other officials at the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Conference in 2005. Photo: EPA-EFE For some, the decision represents a 'missed opportunity' for Indonesia to reassert its leadership in the Global South. But other analysts suggest it reflects President Prabowo Subianto 's broader recalibration of foreign policy – one that prioritises pragmatic partnerships over symbolic gestures. Advertisement While retaining Indonesia's traditional bebas dan aktif (independent and active) diplomatic stance, Prabowo has embraced a more personal, efficiency-driven leadership style. Analysts see his decision not to host a high-profile anniversary event for the Bandung Conference as emblematic of a changed geopolitical reality: a world where multipolarity has replaced the old bipolar and unipolar systems.
South China Morning Post
29-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Indonesia's Danantara fund faces constitutional challenge over corruption concerns
Indonesia 's newly unveiled sovereign wealth fund, Danantara , has sparked a constitutional challenge, with the plaintiff arguing the new law establishing the fund has 'radically changed' the status of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in a way that could impede corruption oversight. Advertisement Experts said the case revealed deep legal ambiguities over whether SOEs were truly separate from the state. The new law attempts to address this tension, but some argue it may weaken public accountability, raising concerns about transparency. In addition to being a sovereign wealth fund, Danantara is a super holding entity entrusted to manage all of Indonesia's State-Owned Enterprises. Compared to Singapore 's Temasek Holdings, and Malaysia 's Khazanah Nasional Berhad, it received initial funding of US$20 billion and aims to achieve a net portfolio worth up to US$900 billion A petition filed in the Constitutional Court on March 20 seeks to declare Law No. 1-2025, which established Danantara and was signed by President Prabowo Subianto in February, unconstitutional. The petition argues that the law cuts financial and legal ties between SOEs and the government, potentially undermining public oversight and enabling corruption. Former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (left), Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (centre) and former Indonesian president Joko Widodo attend the launch of new sovereign wealth fund – Danantara in Jakarta on February 24. Photo: Reuters Plaintiff Rega Felix, an Indonesian citizen, claimed it had 'radically changed' the definition and nature of SOEs. Advertisement
