Commentaries

2017/64, 27 October 2017

Since the beginning of October 2017, local residents of Sekuning, Bintan, Riau Islands (Kepri) Province have been disturbed by illegal tin mining activities over a 250 hectare area. The company involved, PT. Adikarya, has been conducting mining operations while only possessing an exploration (i.e. research) permit. In addition, the provincial office of Energy and Mineral Resources (Distamben) has not issued a permit for these activities.

2017/63, 27 October 2017

In the last one week, China concluded its 19th Party Congress and appointed its Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) with President Xi Jinping as its Chair. It also amended its Constitution to include the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. The Party Congress approved of OBOR in the Constitution as “following the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration, and pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).” OBOR or BRI, announced by President Xi in 2013, covers Chinese initiative to build hard and soft infrastructures from China to Africa and Europe, which will increase bilateral trade and economic influence. The inclusion of such an initiative in Constitution has long-term implications.

2017/62, 25 October 2017

In three weeks, the region’s annual round of leaders’ summits kicks off with the APEC summit in Vietnam on November 11 and the East Asia Summit (EAS) in the Philippines on November 14. Despite these summits being back-to-back and both in Southeast Asia, the major power make-up at APEC and EAS again will be markedly different.

2017/61, 23 October 2017

The sale of Proton to Geely in 2017 marks another new attempt to transform Proton from a lagging national car company to a global player. The appointment of Dr. Li Chunrong as the new CEO of Proton at end September is an important shift towards this new path as he comes with significant credentials from the auto industry.

2017/60, 20 October 2017

On 16 October 2017, Anies Baswedan was sworn in as Jakarta’s new governor at a high-profile swearing-in ceremony. Along with his Deputy Sandiaga Uno, Baswedan won a religiously and racially charged Jakarta election that ultimately saw former ethnic Chinese Christian incumbent governor Basuki ‘Ahok’ Tjahaja Purnama sent to jail for two years under the charge of blasphemy against Islam. Backed by hardline Muslim groups such as the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI), as well as Jokowi opponent Prabowo Subianto and his Gerindra party, Baswedan and Uno’s victory alarmed Indonesia’s moderates and progressives who are concerned that politics at the nation’s capital will now take a more conservative and xenophobic turn.

2017/59, 10 October 2017

Much of the analysis of the Duterte presidency has focussed on what makes it extraordinary:

Duterte benefitted from what appeared to be extraordinarily high approval and trust ratings across all geographical and demographic sub-groups. In his first year in the presidential palace, Duterte had net satisfaction ratings averaging +64% and even higher net trust ratings according to quarterly Social Weather Stations’ polling.

2017/58, 6 October 2017

The visit of Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to Washington from 2 to 4 October 2017 signalled the normalisation of Thai-US relations since the coup in 2014. On the surface, it looked as if Bangkok is trying to rebalance its foreign policy to Washington. But, on closer examination, the visit was pretty much a clever tactic to ingratiate the military leadership with the Trump Administration in order to strengthen its own legitimacy. Therefore, it was not at all surprising that trade deals that overwhelmingly favours the US were the main outcome of the visit.

2017/57, 1 October 2017

After weeks of deafening silence, ASEAN finally found its voice on the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Rakhine State of Myanmar. Acting as the ASEAN Chair, the Philippines issued the “ASEAN Chairman’s Statement on the Humanitarian Situation on Rakhine State” on 23 September. The Statement, which came more than a month after the latest round of hostilities, drew an immediate response from Malaysia. Foreign Minister Anifah Aman took the unequivocal position of “disassociating” Malaysia from the Statement, going so far as to criticise the document as a “misrepresentation” of the situation.

2017/56, 13 September 2017

All eyes are set on the meeting between Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak and US President Donald Trump. The meeting, to mark 60 years of bilateral relations, mainly centres on security and investment ties between the two countries.