Indonesia’s foreign policy is about to face more challenging times with President Prabowo Subianto. The Bebas-Aktif principle (“Free and Active”) was created to ensure Jakarta’s autonomy and to ensure that it is able to reach out to all major powers. But today, it is becoming harder to balance arms between the great powers. The concept of ‘rowing between two reefs’ …

The ASEAN Five-point Consensus (5PC) was adopted in April 2021 as the regional bloc’s framework for addressing Myanmar’s political crisis. It recommends that this violence be stopped instantly, there should be holding of constructive talks among the stakeholders, humanitarian assistance and the appointment of an ASEAN Special Envoy. A significant hurdle for the mechanism in 2026, however, implies another crisis. …

This was a major milestone in the Southeast Asian context of negotiation between the leaders of the countries in the Southeast Asian region, namely Prabowo Subianto and Xi Jinping (China) in November 2024.  The deal also included about US$10 billion in economic cooperation, for trade, mining and industrial projects, as well as the introduction of a more sensitive topic: joint …