Jokowi Returns to Jakarta After S. Korea, Russia Trip

Jakarta Globe, Eko Prasetyo, May 21, 2016

President Joko Widodo welcomed by Vice President Jusuf Kalla at Halim
Perdanakusuma Airport, East Jakarta, Saturday (21/05). After an official visit
to South Korea and Russia, Jokowi has secured partnership agreements
and investment commitments to Indonesia. (State Palace Press Photo/Laily) 

Jakarta. After a week of meetings in South Korea and Russia, President Joko Widodo returned to Jakarta on Saturday (21/05) boasting commitments to bilateral and regional partnerships.

The five day trip resulted in a variety of agreements with South Korean and Russian private business, as well as among Asean.

"In the visit to Korea, there was high enthusiasm from South Korean businessmen. The resulting deals have reached around $18 billion," Foreign Minster Retno Marsudi said in a statement at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, East Jakarta.

At least seven agreements were signed in South Korea, including in the maritime, creative industry, sports, special economic regions and corruption eradication sectors.

In Russia, Joko met with President Vladimir Putin to enhance partnerships in palm exports, fisheries and investment diversification.

"All the potential will be followed up," Retno said, adding that Russia has also committed to constructing a $13 billion oil refinery. “Also, there were five agreements on defense, fishing, culture, national archive and foreign ministry archives.”

During the Asean-Russia Summit, Joko said partnerships should be focused on energy, small-medium enterprises and connectivity, while maintaining peace and security in the region.

Joko met with the Vietnamese and Singaporean Prime Ministers to discuss the realization of the 2018 $10 billion trade target and continuing maritime delimitations.

President Joko Widodo inaugurated as Seoul's honorary citizen, during his state
visit to the South Korean capital on Tuesday (17/05). (State Palace Press Photo/Intan)

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Jokowi, in Rare Tirade, Threatens to Fire Officials Over Cargo Delays at Tanjung Priok

Jakarta Globe, Jun 17, 2015

President Joko Widodo telling officials and reporters what’s what, during a visit to
 Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port on Wednesday. The president threatened to fire
 officials responsible for the notorious delays in moving cargo through the port.
(Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Jakarta. President Joko Widodo gave an uncharacteristic outburst during an inspection of Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port on Wednesday, threatening to fire officials responsible for the lengthy delays in moving containers through the port.

“The process takes too long because the people handling it don’t want to move fast,” he told an entourage of officials and reporters.

He noted that Tanjung Priok’s dwell time, or the amount of time a container spends at the port before moving on, was an average of 5.5 days – the longest in Asia, he said. He also said some items took up to a month to clear customs and excise.

Joko added he was well aware of the legendary delays at the port, which handles two-thirds of Indonesia’s international trade, from his experience running a furniture export business, and threatened to fire any officials responsible for the problem.

“Let it be known that if things get [even more] difficult, I can fire the director general, the people on the ground, even the minister. If that’s how you work that’s [what will happen],” he said.

He did not specify which director general or minister he was referring to. The director general of customs and excise is Agung Kuswandono, whose office falls under the purview of the Finance Ministry, headed by Bambang Brodjonegoro. The trade and transportation ministries, which also have a hand in operations at the port, are headed respectively by Rachmat Gobel and Jonan Ignasius.

Joko said it was apparent that no one involved in the process – from loading and unloading containers to clearing them through customs – understood their duties or responsibilities, and chastised the officials around him for glossing over the problems.

“Don’t say everything’s fine. The reality is that [Indonesia] is lagging far behind. So who? Customs or trade? Who should I be speaking to?” he said, repeating the question seven more times.

There was no response from any of the officials.

“Which agency takes the longest time [processing] exports and imports?” the president went on. “There’s gotta be one. So I’m asking again, which one? Fess up, and we’ll fix it.”

Again there was no response.

Joko said the average dwell time at Tanjung Priok should be brought down to 4.7 days if Indonesia was to be competitive with Singapore and Malaysia.

“I want this port to be faster, more efficient, to give the best import and export services, because our business is the service business,” he said.

Joko Heads to Japan, China to Make Investment Push

Jakarta Globe, Novy Lumanauw & Carlos Paath, Mar 22, 2015

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo, left, walks with China's President Xi Jinping.
Joko left for a state visit to Japan and China on Sunday. (AFP Photo/ Greg Baker)

Jakarta. President Joko Widodo kicks off a seven-day state visit to Japan and China on Sunday, a trip he hopes will to drum up foreign investment and cement bilateral ties between Indonesia and the two Asian economic giants.

The president, first lady Iriana Widodo, and senior government figures arrive in Tokyo this evening and will stay until March 25, before moving on to Beijing and returning to Jakarta next Saturday.

At a press conference at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta today, Joko said he hoped the trip would be of benefit to Indonesia.

“The government is committed to developing this country and to run a good, clean administration,” he said. “We want to speed up infrastructure development, stimulate investment and boost the maritime industry.”

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Natsir said the main purpose of the visits was to improve economic cooperation and trade with Japan and China.

On top of meeting government representatives, Joko is scheduled to attend business forums in both countries where he will inform business leaders of investment opportunities in Indonesia, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

Joko will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi; Coordinating Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil; Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) Chief Gen. Moeldoko; Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto; and Chief of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Franky Sibarani.

Indonesia’s imports from Japan rose 17.8 percent to $19.25 billion between 2009 and 2013, according to data from the Trade Ministry. Over the same period Indonesia’s exports to Japan climbed 9.3 percent to $27.1 billion.

EU Chief Van Rompuy Urges Transparency During Indonesian Visit

Jakarta Globe, Nov 21, 2014

This handout photo taken and released on Nov. 19, 2014 by the Presidential
Palace shows President Joko Widodo, right, walking with European Council
 President Herman Van Rompuy, left, following their bilateral meeting at the
palace in Jakarta. (AFP Photo/Presidential Palace/Cahyo Sasmito)

Jakarta. Visiting European Union chief Herman Van Rompuy has praised the progress of Indonesia’s democracy and its economic development, and says the EU can offer much more to Indonesia than the current level of cooperation.

In his speech at the opening of the 5th Europe-Indonesia Business Dialogue in Jakarta on Wednesday, Van Rompuy, the EU Council president, told the gathering that Indonesia had indeed undergone an impressive transformation since democratic and political reforms were initiated more than 15 years ago, and that the country’s robust economic growth and social development bore testimony to this.

He said that the energy of President Joko Widodo and his administration reflected the aspirations of a young and growing Indonesian population that looked to the future with great hope.

“I see great potential for expanding cooperation over the next five years between the new Indonesian government and the European Union,” Van Rompuy said.

“I was particularly interested this morning to hear President Joko talk of his vision for Indonesia as a maritime axis, and I feel that Europe, much of whose trade goes by the open seas, not least passing through the Indonesian archipelago, has much in common with you on this agenda.”

He said the EU was also interested in Joko’s plans for upgrading Indonesia’s infrastructure, for improving the business climate, and for cutting the red tape that can stop projects from getting under way.

“More streamlined and transparent procedures will certainly bring more European investment in this sector,” Van Rompuy said.

European companies are increasingly interested in Indonesia, and in 2013 foreign direct investment from the EU reached a record high of $2.4 billion, according to Van Rompuy. “The EU is the second-biggest investor in Indonesia this year,” he added.

But in spite of all these successes, Van Rumpuy said Indonesia was not yet realizing the full potential of the scale that European business had to offer.

“The EU’s trade with Indonesia is healthy, yet it is well below our trade with other smaller countries in the region, such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. This is despite the fact that Indonesia is by far the largest economy in Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations], representing around 40 percent of total Asean GDP and population. We can do better.”

From 2004 to 2011, Indonesia received 12 percent of all EU investment flowing into Asean, and 0.4 percent of total FDI outflows from the EU to the world in 2011.

Deepening trade and investment links with the world’s largest trading bloc — the EU — will bring substantial gains to Indonesia, he said.

He said a recent study showed that a comprehensive economic agreement between the EU and Indonesia would boost our overall trade and facilitate more FDI from the EU, which in turn would help develop Indonesia into the manufacturing hub of Asean.

“My message here is that European companies stand ready to increase their already considerable investments in Indonesia, provided that the business climate is welcoming, open and transparent.”

Chinese Ambassador: Maritime Links Key in Boosting Ties With Indonesia

Xie Feng speaks at length about his thoughts on President Joko Widodo, the historic treatment of ethnic Chinese, and the future of bilateral relations as both countries pursue parallel visions

Jakarta Globe, Nov 13, 2014

President Joko Widodo (left) walks with China’s President Xi Jinping after
 arriving to take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders
 meeting at Yanqi Lake, north of Beijing on Tuesday. (AFP Photo/Greg Baker)

On the eve of President Joko Widodo’s departure for Beijing to attend this week’s APEC Summit and meet a number of world leaders, including China’s President Xi Jinping, the Chinese ambassador to Indonesia, Xie Feng, was interviewed by the Chinese newspaper Global Times.

In the interview, Ambassador Xie, who has been in the country since June, talked about his impression of Indonesia, his interaction with the new president, economic ties between China and Indonesia, and the correlation between Jokowi’s vision of a “maritime axis” and President Xi’s plan to build a “21st-centurty maritime silk road.”

With permission, the Jakarta Globe is republishing the interview, which first appeared on Nov. 6. It was edited for style only.

Global Times: Global media said that Mr. Joko Widodo won voters’ support because he’s a ‘People’s President.’ After your arrival in Jakarta, have you had any contact with him and what are your impressions about him?

Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng. (Photo
 courtesy of the Embassy of the People’s
 Republic of China)

Ambassador Xie: In less than a decade, Mr. Joko Widodo’s journey from being a furniture businessman to president is truly a political miracle in Indonesia and even worldwide. In my first week as ambassador, I had the honor of meeting with him briefly and was deeply impressed by his sincerity, easy-going style and kindness. After that I had two in-depth conversations with him and paid courtesy calls on him on several occasions with visiting Chinese delegations after he won the presidency. I believe President Joko Widodo is a firm, visionary, pro-people and down-to-earth leader, with a clear sense of purpose. His policy agenda has a lot in common with that of Chinese leaders. These include governance in the interest of people, pushing forward reform, developing economy, improving public well-being and fighting corruption. The Indonesian people have quite high expectations for him.

President Joko Widodo told me that he much values the face-to-face communications with the public. He believes such communications should happen day in and day out and this is the only way to understand what people need. That’s why he frequently visits traditional markets, rural villages and street food vendors to talk to and eat together with people. In the Javanese language, there is a specific word to describe his work style, blusukan. It means impromptu visit, which is akin to what we call “reach out to the grassroots.”

Global Times: What does President Joko Widodo’s trip to China mean to the APEC Summit and China-Indonesia relations?

Ambassador Xie: Indonesia was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with China. In 1950s, China, Indonesia and other Asian and African countries initiated the Bandung Spirit. At the heart of it is peaceful coexistence, seeking common ground and shelving differences. The Bandung Spirit remains a significant norm in state-to-state relations today. China today is Indonesia’s largest trading partner, its No. 1 source of overseas tourists and a major destination for Indonesian students. In October last year, President Xi Jinping paid a successful state visit to Indonesia. He and Indonesian leaders agreed to lift the China-Indonesia relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. This has laid a solid foundation and mapped out a blueprint for the long-run development of our bilateral relations. In 2014, Indonesia’s general elections year, our bilateral relations have had a smooth transition and got off to a good start. President Joko Widodo attaches great importance to China-Indonesia relations. He has chosen China for his first overseas visit after inauguration.

Indonesia was the birth place of APEC Bogor Goals. Last year, Indonesia hosted its second APEC Summit in 20 years, and raised three major topics including achieving the Bogor Goals, promoting sustainable and equitable growth and improving connectivity. China actively echoed and supported these ambitions. We look forward to closer coordination and cooperation with Indonesia for positive outcomes out of this year’s APEC Summit, including launching the process of the Asia Pacific Free Trade Area (FTAAP), promoting innovative development, economic reform and growth, and improving connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Global Times: It’s almost five months since your arrival in Jakarta. Can you share with us some of your impressions about Indonesia?

Ambassador Xie: I’ve been deeply impressed by Indonesia in many ways.

First, Indonesia is a big country with rich resource endowment. Indonesia has around 250 million population. It is the world’s largest archipelagic state, with over 17,000 islands. It takes 9 hours to fly from its east to west. That’s roughly the distance between London and Tehran. Indonesia has abundant natural resources and is known as the Emerald of the Equator. My Indonesian friends often say with great pride that ‘please don’t ask what we have, just ask what we don’t have!’

Second, diversity and inclusiveness. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world, yet it’s also known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. We Chinese value ‘harmony but not uniformity.’ In the same vein, the Indonesian people believe in ‘unity in diversity.’

Meanwhile, Indonesia has around 20 million Chinese Indonesians, that’s the largest ethnic Chinese community outside China. Over the past hundreds of years, generations of Chinese migrants sailed to Indonesia. They settled down and took root in this country. They survived the tribulations yet always worked hard to pursue a better life. Today, many of them have built a successful career and become social elites. They have made major contribution to Indonesia’s economic, social development and cultural prosperity, and have acted as a unique bridge in promoting China-Indonesia friendly exchanges and cooperation. Since 1998, successive Indonesian governments have made active efforts to improve the social status of Chinese Indonesians and promote ethnic harmony. In 2000, President Abdurrahman Wahid lifted the ban on Chinese culture and customs. In 2002, President Megawati Soekarnoputri announced the Chinese Spring Festival as a public holiday in Indonesia. In 2006, the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) passed a new law on citizenship, annulling the previous legal distinction between native and non-native Indonesians. It marked an end to many discriminatory policies against Chinese Indonesians. In March this year, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono repealed the discriminatory term for the Chinese Indonesians through legislation and adopted ‘Tiongkok’ and ‘Tionghoa’ to refer to China and Chinese Indonesians respectively. This past August, Indonesia’s first Museum on Hakka history and culture was completed. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and I attended the opening ceremony. In his remarks, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spoke highly of the Chinese Indonesians’ outstanding contribution to Indonesia’s independence, development and progress.

Third, goodwill and kindness. The Indonesian people are warm, hospitable and are always ready to help others. Their happiness index is quite high.

Fourth, great potential. Indonesia’s population, landmass and GDP are all over 40 percent of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states combined. It’s the only Southeast Asian member of the G20 and is the 16th-largest economy around the world.

Global Times: China is Indonesia’s largest trading partner. Where is the growth point for the bilateral commercial cooperation in the future?

Ambassador Xie: China and Indonesia are both major emerging markets and developing countries. Our economies are highly complimentary and the cooperation potential is huge. Two-way investment will be a bright spot in our business cooperation in the years ahead. And infrastructure is expected to be a new growth driver in this regard. My Indonesian friends told me that the cargo freight from Papua to Jakarta is three times the cost of shipping the cargo from Shanghai to Jakarta. Nearly 50 million population in Indonesia have no access to electricity. Infrastructure is a major bottleneck holding back Indonesia’s economic growth. The Indonesian new government is implementing the ‘ocean highway’ strategy, and planning to build 2,000 kilometers of road, 10 new airports, 10 new sea ports and 10 industrial parks. The purpose is to promote air, land and sea connectivity, and improve energy, telecommunications and transport infrastructure. In my recent meetings with Indonesian leaders, responsible officials of economic departments and entrepreneurs, I could feel their strong desire to enhance cooperation with China.

Global Times: President Joko Widodo vows to develop marine economy and turn Indonesia into a global maritime axis. What’s the purpose of this strategy? What does it mean to China-Indonesia relations?

Ambassador Xie: Indonesia sits between the Pacific and Indian Oceans and connects Asia and Oceania. It controls a number of strategic chokepoints, such as the Malacca Straits, the Lombok Strait and the Sunda Strait. In history, Indonesia was a major hub in the maritime silk road, with a rich legacy of friendly exchanges between our two countries. The city of Semarang has been named after the well-known Chinese navigator Admiral Zheng He. It retains much heritage of Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Seas in the 15th century.

In his inauguration speech, President Joko Widodo called for building Indonesia into a maritime power. This policy agenda focuses on raising maritime awareness, building ocean highways, promoting maritime connectivity, developing marine economy, upholding maritime security and conducting maritime diplomacy. And the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs has been established. In his visit to Indonesia in October last year, President Xi Jinping announced the strategic initiative of building a “21st century maritime silk road.” This is to develop a ‘silk road’ spirit of peace, friendship, openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation among China, Indonesia and other coastal countries of the maritime silk road. The purpose is to promote policy communication, transport connectivity, trade relations, monetary circulation and understanding between the people, and build a community of common destinies. This shows the strategic visions of Chinese and Indonesian leaders complement each other. Maritime cooperation will become a ‘blue bond’ connecting our two countries’ development strategies. It is expected to be a new highlight and a new driver for strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership and deepening the practical cooperation between our two countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks past US President Barack Obama

as Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana and other world leaders

and their spouses get into position for a family photo before a banquet in Beijing

on Nov. 10, 2014. (EPA Photo/Sergei Ilnitsky)

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Russia Ready to Help, Promises Cooperation With Indonesia

Top Russian politician meets with Vice President Jusuf Kalla to boost ties

Jakarta Globe, Novy Lumanauw, Nov 12, 2014

Valentina I. Matviyenko, the speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament,
 shaking hands with House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto at the
legislative complex Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday. (Antara Photo/Ismar Patrizki)

Jakarta. Vice President Jusuf Kalla and a high-level representative from the Russian government met on Wednesday to discuss bilateral trade, politics and infrastructure development in Indonesia.

Valentina I. Matviyenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, met with Kalla at the vice president’s office, where the pair spoke about boosting trade and improving economic ties between the two countries.

Russia and Indonesia have set a target for bilateral trade to reach $5 billion in value, Matviyenko said at a press conference after the meeting, although an exact time frame was not spelled out. In 2012 trade reached $3.4 billion, according to Hatta Rajasa, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for economic affairs under former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

At a time when Indonesia is looking to attract investment and improve ailing infrastructure, Matviyenko said the Russian government could help, especially with trains, smelters and power plants.

She also said her country could help make President Joko Widodo’s vision of turning Indonesia into a maritime axis for the Asia-Pacific area a reality. Matviyenko said Russia was prepared help Indonesia build maritime infrastructure, such as ports.

Russia — which has battled militants from Muslim Chechnya for more than two decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union — could also help Indonesia fight homegrown and international terrorism, she said.

Kalla said the promise of cooperation would be followed up and it was important to include Russian businesses in discussions about developing Indonesia’s resources.

“We’ve had a long [and] good relationship with Russia, in politics, trade and innovation,” he said.

We Are Waiting for You to Invest in Indonesia, Jokowi Tells APEC in Speech

Jakarta Globe, Nov 11, 2014

President Joko Widodo delivers a speech at the APEC CEO Summit as part of the
 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit at the China National Convention
Center in Beijing on Nov. 10, 2014. (AFP Photo/Pool/Andy Wong)

Jakarta. Indonesian President Joko Widodo addressed business leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO summit in Beijing on Monday, where he put out a call for greater investment in the archipelago and promised a friendlier climate for doing business in the country.

The following is his speech:

Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen and CEOs.

First, on behalf of Indonesian government and the people of Indonesia I would like to thank you for coming to my presentation. Today I am very happy to be among with you because you know I was a businessman years ago. So this morning I am very happy because we can talk about business, about investment with all of you.

This picture shows you our map of Indonesia. We have a population of 240 million and the distance is like from London in the UK to Istanbul in Turkey. And imagine, we have 17,000 islands.

Our national budget in 2015 is $167 billion and the fuel subsidy [allocation] is $27 billion. It’s huge. So we want to channel our fuel subsidy from consumption to productive activities. We want to channel [the money] to farmers for seed, for fertilizers, and also for irrigation. And we want to build dams — 25 dams in five years from our fuel subsidy to maintain the water supply to farming areas.

Some subsidy [funds] we want to channel to fishermen, to give them boat engines [and] refrigerators. We want to increase the income of the fishermen. Some fuel subsidy [funds] we want to [give to] micro and small enterprises in the villages. We want to help them raise working capital. And some subsidy [funds] we want to channel to the health program [and] the education program. And the subsidy [funds] we [also] want to channel to infrastructure.

In five years we want to build 24 seaports and deep seaports. We have 17,000 islands, so we need seaports and deep seaports. And this is your opportunity: 24 seaports and deep seaports.

This picture shows our Jakarta port, Tanjung Priok Port. In 2009, the capacity was 3.6 million TEUs a year. And our plan in 2017 is around 15 million TEUs a year. This is the potential [for] ports in Indonesia. This is your opportunity. We want to build in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java, Sulawesi, Maluku, also in Papua. And we plan to build our [railway network]. We already [have railway lines] in Java and we want to build in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua. This is your opportunity.

Now we talk about mass transportation. We want to build mass transportation in six big cities in Indonesia. We started in Jakarta last year, and we want to build in Medan, Makassar, Semarang, Bandung [and] Surabaya. So, this is also your opportunity. Because you know our national budget is limited.

Now we [will] talk [about] our maritime agenda. We want to build [a] sea toll. What is [a] sea toll? [A] Sea toll is [a] maritime transportation system to make our transportation costs lower [and] more efficient. We want to build from the west to the east. We hope not only the vessels can enter our sea toll but also mother vessels can enter the sea toll. So the price, the cost of the transportation, [becomes] more efficient.

For example, the price of [...] one sack [of] cement in Java is $6 [...] But in Papua the price is $150 [...] Imagine, 25 times [as much]. So we hope with our sea toll the price in our islands [will be] the same.

Electricity. We need power plants. We need around 35,000 [megawatts] to build our industries, projects, industrial zones, [manufacturing] zones. So we need power plants. This is also your opportunity to invest in this project. Because we need our power plants for manufacturing, for industrial zones.

Many investors, a lot of investors, when they come to me most of them [...] always complain about land acquisition. I will push my ministers, my governors, my mayors to help clear this problem. I have experience with land acquisition when I was a governor. We [had the] Jakarta Outer Ring Road [project that] started 15 years ago but stopped eight years ago, because we had a problem. One point five kilometers [was] unfinished because there [were] 143 families [who did] not accept [...] the compensation price. So last year I invited them [...] to lunch and dinner. Four times. Ah, this is me. I invited them and then we talked about the problem. Four times. And the problem [was] cleared.

And now the toll road has been [in use since] seven months ago.

Now [let’s] talk business permits. We have a national one-stop service office that can help you, that will serve you, that will facilitate you, that will give you your business permit. For example, [a] principle business permit [will take] three days to process.

Finally, again on behalf of the Indonesian government and the people of Indonesia I would like to thank you for your listening my presentation. We are waiting for you to come to Indonesia. We are waiting for you to invest in Indonesia. Thank you.

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Draft of the Master Plan for National Capital Integrated Coastal Development. 
(JG Screen Grab courtesy of the website of the Coordinating Ministry of
Economic Affairs)

Australia’s Boat Policy Rebuked

Jakarta Globe, Vanesha Manuturi, January 8, 2014

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa talks to journalists during
 a press conference following the Special Conference on Irregular Movement
of Persons in Jakarta on August 20, 2013. (EPA Photo)

Indonesia rebukes Australia’s policy in turning the boats of asylum-seekers back to the country’s waters, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said during his annual speech on Tuesday in Jakarta.

The most recent incident reportedly happened last month when a vessel of about 47 people, mostly from Sudan and Somalia, was forced back to Indonesian waters by the Australian navy, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The broadcaster reported that the boat later ran out of fuel, before washing ashore on Rote Island, East Nusa Tenggara on Dec. 19 and those on board were picked up by Indonesian authorities.

“[Turning back the boats] is not the solution. If we all practice the same thing, when will the issue end?” Marty said. “We are hoping for a better solution.”

However, Marty declined to comment on the operational details of the incident, deferring it to the Coordinating Ministry of Political Affairs and Defense.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Immigration Minister Scott Morrison remained mum on the issue, stating that: “For operational security reasons, the government does not disclose, confirm or otherwise comment on reports of on-water activities in relation to Operation Sovereign Borders.”

Operation Sovereign Borders is Australia’s military-led program to hinder smugglers in bringing asylum-seekers to Australia, mostly on rickety fishing boats from Indonesia.

With the policy, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s government will turn back boats, with the possibility of violating Indonesia’s territorial sovereignty.

Hundreds of people have drowned in the past few years as they desperately attempted to reach Australia, often on fragile, wooden boats.

The relationship between Australia and Indonesia has strained ever since the Australian government was reportedly found spying on several top Indonesia officials in November.

According to Marty, the current state of the relationship is an aberration, not the rule. He believes the relationship should reconcile in due time, but not instantly.

“Diplomacy, foreign affairs and the relations among nations is a process, not an event, or something that can be simply restored by several declarations,” he said.

“What’s needed is a gradual restoration of confidence and trust.”

Marty pointed to the six-point roadmap introduced by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Nov. 26. “We are currently on the first phase of the roadmap,” he said.

The first phase of the roadmap is to continue communications and discussions between the neighboring countries on sensitive and important issues.

In the implementation of the roadmap, the minister met with his Australian counterpart, Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, in December, and he has been in constant communication with Bishop since.

Following talks and establishment of agreements, the second step would be to discuss codes of conduct and protocols.

No deadline has been set for this.

During the annual statement on Tuesday, the minister also affirmed that Indonesian foreign policies will continue to focus on three challenges in the Asia-Pacific region: trust deficits, territorial disputes, and geopolitical, geo-economic shifts.

“I believe that amongst the most fundamental and basic challenge in front of us must be the maintenance of the region’s peace and security. This has been, and will continue to be, Indonesia’s principal priority in 2014,” Marty said.

After all, he continued, these conditions are the prerequisites to the region’s continued economic progress and prosperity.

“Therefore, there can be no complacency. Peace must be waged. Prosperity must be secured.”

Marty said that the region is now witnessing various seemingly contradictory symptoms, citing that at a time when the Southeast Asia region is entering that final stretch towards Asean Community 2015, East Asia is showing signs of rising tensions and uncertainties.

“At a time when the economies of the region are more intertwined and interdependent than ever before signs of trust deficits are ever more prevalent.

“And at a time when the advantages of peaceful settlement of disputes are self evident, there are signs that unilateral approaches are instead being preferred,” Marty commented.

Therefore, Indonesia’s foreign policy in 2014, he said, would continue to vigorously address the aforementioned triple challenges, in Indonesia’s view, of Asia and the Pacific region

“Indonesia in essence will try to convert the ‘trust deficits’ evident in much of the region to a ‘strategic trust’,” Marty said, adding that the country would also actively attempt to set aside the use or the threat of use of force as a means to solve territorial disputes, while mediating all disputing countries to use diplomacy and negotiation solve problems.

— Additional reporting from Agence France-Presse

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Dutch PM Visit to Indonesia Yields ‘Concrete Results’

Jakarta Globe, November 25, 2013

Netherland’s Prime Minister Mark Rutte, left, poses with Indonesia’s President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, right, during a visit at the presidential palace in
Jakarta on Nov. 20, 2013. (AFP Photo/Adek Berry)

As many as 21 agreements worth millions of dollars have been signed between Indonesian and Dutch companies in various sectors during the visit of the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to Jakarta last week.

Retno LP Marsudi, the Indonesian ambassador to the Netherlands, described the visit as “a big success” in term of the acceptance of the visit by the Indonesian public and results that were achieved.

“We have achieved so many concrete results during the visit,” she said.

The two governments signed several agreements to bring the relations to a new era, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono praising Indonesia-Dutch relations as providing concrete solutions to Indonesian problems while Rutte describing the bilateral cooperation being very beneficial to both nations after their meeting on Nov. 20.

Rutte brought with him nearly 200 businesspeople from 110 companies, the biggest ever Dutch delegation to visit Indonesia. The group includes the Dutch biggest companies, such as Phillips and Friesland Campina.

Both Yudhoyono and Rutte launched the unprecedented comprehensive partnership that aimed to boost cooperation in at least 11 sectors, including water management, logistics, infrastructure, food security, agriculture, energy and education.

Hatta Rajasa, Indonesian chief economic minister, said that Indonesia expected to double trade and investment with the Netherlands from the current $5 billion and $1.3 billion respectively in five years.

“We will work harder because this is a new opportunity, especially since we have reduced license procedures, increased transparency and provided incentives,” he added.

He expressed the hope that Indonesia could become a marketing base for Dutch companies to enter Southeast Asia by 2015. Similarly, the Netherlands could become the base for Indonesian companies hoping to enter Europe.

“We want to become a single market by 2015. We hope that Indonesia can become the base for Dutch companies to enter the Asean market and, in turn, Rotterdam in the Netherlands can become our base to expand into the European market,” he said.

With regard to the national coastal development management, he said the Dutch government had expressed its intention to help and participate in the Great Sea Wall project, which is expected to start in 2014.

The Netherlands has funded a plan for a massive sea wall in Jakarta Bay to prevent tidal flooding and to manage the flow of water within the capital.

The area behind the 35-kilometer-long, 15-kilometer-wide wall will be turned into office complexes, malls and other commercial buildings. There is even a plan to relocate all government offices to the area once it is completed by 2025.

“We are cooperating with the Netherlands. We plan to carry out the project together. After the master plan is finished, we will offer it as a public-private cooperation project,” Hatta added.

In business-to-business deals, Van Oord, a Dutch port company, will work on a $27 million project to create five islands around Tanjung Perak port in Surabaya. An industrial estate will be built on the new land.

“Indonesia faces big marine engineering challenges,” Van Oord chief executive Pieter van Oord said, after the contract signing at Tanjung Priok in Jakarta in the presence of Rutte.

“The broad experience of Dutch engineers in protecting low-lying areas and the construction of land makes good cooperation possible.”

Work on the project will start in December and will continue until spring 2014. The project will involve dredging 4,000,000 cubic meters of sand from the sea bed and using it to construct five islands with a total area of 220 hectares. The contract will also include the installation of rock. Van Oord will be deploying a large trailing suction hopper dredger on the project.

In food security and agriculture, the Indonesian Horticultural Seed Producers Association (Hortindo) and its Dutch counterpart agreed to cooperate in developing horticulture in Indonesia. “For us, cooperation is very important because the Netherlands is the world’s second-largest exporter of horticultural products,” Hortindo spokesman, Glenn Pardede said.

“The Dutch investors want to develop potato and large yellow onion plantations in Indonesia,” he noted.

In the education and health sectors, several universities in the Netherlands signed agreements with their counterparts in Indonesia.

Hasanuddin University in Makassar and the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam (AMC) agreed to work together to create a state-of-the-art heart center in the eastern Indonesia’s biggest city.

Meanwhile, Erasmus University, a Dutch university with a leading health center in Europe, signed agreements with Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and Airlangga University in Surabaya to build health research centers for patient care.

On logistics and training, the Bandung Institute of Technology, Surabaya Institute of Technology, the Indonesian Transport Operators Association and the Indonesian Logistics Association teamed up with Dutch’s STC and Panteia/NEA to enhance cooperation on education, training, capacity development, research and consultancy in transport and logistics.

In the aviation and airport sectors, the Indonesian Civil Aviation Training Center and JAA will work together to boost the aviation safety training to meet international aviation safety standards while becoming a center of excellence in the region.

The string of accidents that have rocked Indonesia’s aviation industry, raising concerns in the safety standards applied by the country’s industry.

In addition, Indonesia’s Jaya Teknik and Dutch Vanderlande Industries signed a contract on improving the handling of baggage at the New Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Terminal 3.

Especially in palm oil plantation, Vice President Boediono asked Rutte to help Indonesia overcome obstacles that had hindered its palm oil exports to the Europe.

“Palm oil is a very important and sustainable industry in Indonesia. We hope that palm oil exports will increase again,” Boediono told Rutte during their meeting last Friday.

In response, Rutte said that he would try to resolve bottlenecks in Indonesian palm oil exports.

“I understand that there are 3.7 million workers in the palm oil industry, and that palm oil is a large and important industry for Indonesia. Hopefully, it can gradually improve,” he said.

Boediono also asked the Netherlands to cooperate in developing Indonesia’s depleted infrastructure, many said has become the main stumbling block for the country to develop further into an advance nation.

“We need investors from the Netherlands to help develop our infrastructure,” he said.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Indonesian Ambassador to the
Netherlands Retno LP Marsudi, side by side in The Hague.
(Photo courtesy of Indonesian embassy)

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Ghana told to free Argentine ship Libertad by UN court

BBC News, 15 December 2012

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The ARA Libertad is being manned
 by a skeleton crew in the port of Tema

A UN court has ordered the release of an Argentine naval ship impounded by Ghana over a debt dispute.

The UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, based in Germany, ruled that the ARA Libertad had immunity because it was a military vessel.

The ship has been held in the port of Tema since October when a local court ruled in favour of a financial fund.

The fund says it is owed $370m (£233m) by the Argentine government as a result of its debt default a decade ago.

A skeleton crew has stayed on board the three-masted training ship since about 300 personnel and naval cadets flew home in October.

The tribunal in Hamburg ordered that Ghana should "forthwith and unconditionally release the frigate ARA Libertad" and ensure the ship and its crew can leave Ghanaian waters.

It set a deadline of 22 December for the ship to have left the port.

Tribunal president Shunji Yanai ordered that the vessel should be resupplied if needed.

The court said that holding the ship was "a source of conflict that may endanger friendly relations among states".

Last month, sailors on board the Libertad reportedly drew guns on Ghanaian officials after they tried to board the vessel to move it to another berth.

Immunity 'violated'

An agent for the Ghanaian government who was at the court said after the ruling that it would "carefully consider the tribunal's order with a view to ensuring that it is given effect."

Financial fund NML Capital has so far not commented on the ruling.

NML is a subsidiary of US hedge fund Elliot Capital Management, which is one of Argentina's former creditors.

Argentina had argued that the seizure violated the immunity of military vessels under international maritime law.

In 2001 and 2002, Argentina defaulted on more than $100bn of debt. Most of these loans were subsequently restructured, giving creditors about 30% of their money back.

However, some creditors including Elliot chose to hold out, pursuing the Argentine government through the courts. 

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Among the loans underwritten by the Export Credits Guarantee
Department  was one for £35m to Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe for
the purchase of five of BAE Systems' Hawk fighter jets. 
Photograph: PA

Britain owed millions for weapons used by autocratic regimes

Former Indonesian president General Suharto. Britain lent 
the country  more than £630m at a time when Suharto 
was stifling demonstrations. Photograph: AP