Author: Dede Setiarini

The 20th ASEAN Chief of Defense Forces Meeting (ACDFM) Forum was held on Wednesday at the Candi Ballroom, Apurva Kempinski Hotel, Bali. Military chiefs of countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) participate in the ACDFM that is held on an annual basis. The meeting was held with the objective of strengthening and expanding ASEAN’s security. For this year’s ACDFM, in which Indonesia serves as host as part of the country’s 2023 ASEAN chairmanship, Timor-Leste had also participated. Myanmar’s military chief, on the other hand, did not participate in the meeting, which is unrelated to the political issue…

MANILA – “If you’ve been in government long enough, you’ll have seen many of these,” said President Marcos the other day by way of downplaying the abrupt ouster of Pampanga representative and former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) from her position as senior deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. “It’s just part of the reorganization.” But what a way to treat a major ally who had played a key role in forging the formidable Marcos-Duterte partnership! The shabby treatment of the former president seems totally inconsistent with the impression one gets from merely looking at front-page photos. Arroyo has been…

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Swiss watchmaker Swatch said Tuesday that Malaysian authorities raided its stores and confiscated 164 watches from its Pride Collection. It said Ministry of Home Affairs officials raided its outlets in various malls across Malaysia on May 13 and 14 and seized the watches because they “bore LGBT connotations.” The watches come in a choice of six colours, matching those on the gay pride flag, and have two rainbow loops on their straps. “We strongly contest that our collection of watches using rainbow colours and having a message of peace and love could be harmful for whomever,”…

Four Danish companies – Topsoe, Alfa Laval, Copenhagen Atomics, and Aalborg – are supporting a project to use small modular reactors (SMRs) to produce energy for ammonia production by Indonesia companies Pupuk Kaltim along with Pertamina New & Renewable Energy. The agreement was signed in Copenhagen at Topsoe HQ in Lyngby, Denmark, and all participating companies were present, as well as officials from the Indonesian embassy. The nuclear power plant will be capable of producing 1 GWe from 25 SMRs supplied by Copenhagen Atomics. The facility will be located in Bontang on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo,…

GENEVA – In a fast-evolving global landscape, ASEAN countries must seize the moment to accelerate the energy transition. This is critical to build a greener path for growth, while delivering on energy security and affordability, and meeting climate targets. The 10 ASEAN countries are home to about 650 million people and are some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. To power this growth, the region’s energy demand has over the last two decades increased on average by around 3% a year – to become the fourth largest in the world after China, the United States and India. In Vietnam alone, electricity demand is rising by around 8% a year –…

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Monday he tested positive for Covid-19 for the first time after returning home from work trips in Africa and Asia. Due to his age, the 71-year-old said he was prescribed the Paxlovid antiviral medication. “I tested positive for Covid-19 for the first time this morning,” Lee said on Facebook, where he posted a photo of a positive antigen rapid test. “I am generally feeling ok, but my doctors have advised me to self-isolate until I am asymptomatic.” Lee was on an official visit to South Africa from May 14 to 16, and Kenya…

Thai Houses The Thai house, like other houses in Southeast-Asia, is a wooden structure raised on posts. Over many centuries it has acquired its own unique style. The distinguishing marks are an elegantly tapering roof and various finials and decorations that differ regionally. While architectural features vary throughout the four cultural regions, Central Thailand, the North (Lanna), the North-East (Isaan), and the South, the method of raising a platform on poles is common to all parts of the country. It offers protection from dirt, hostile wildlife, thieves, and most importantly from the monsoon floods which affect all of Thailand. The…

The program boosts the e-commerce skills of Thai vocational school teachers and students while promoting the exchanges on culture, economy and trade between Thailand and China. CHIANG MAI, Thailand, March 8 (Xinhua) — Thailand and China jointly launched a training program on Monday at Thailand’s Chiang Mai University to sharpen e-commerce skills among vocational school students in the Southeast Asian country. The “Chinese Language plus Professional Skills” e-commerce training program features Chinese e-commerce experiences combining with Thai characteristics, according to the training program organizers. The five-day training program, with 65 participating students, provides courses on development of the China-Thailand e-commerce…

While the EU is promoting the ninth round of sanctions against Russia, the head of EU foreign policy recently expressed “concern” about the close relationship between Türkiye and Russia, and called on Türkiye to join the sanctions against Russia. This speech angered Türkiye’s President RecepTayyip Erdogan, who responded on the 15th that EU politicians have no right to interfere in Turkish Russian relations. According to the West German Report of Germany on December 11, in a letter to the European Parliament, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Borrell said that Türkiye’s refusal to join the EU’s sanctions against…

The European Union and Aga Khan Foundation Partner for Rural Development in Tajikistan High in the mountains of Central Asia, villagers can only dream of easy access to water for drinking and irrigation, as the river waters glisten in the snaking valleys below. That dream is about to become a reality as the European Union and the private, not-for-profit Aga Khan Foundation team together to promote agricultural development and improve access to clean and safe drinking water in Tajikistan’s Zarafshonvalley, a region characterized by mountain ranges with peaks reaching 4,000 – 5,000 meters high. The EU and Aga Khan Foundation…