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French President Emmanuel Macron and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto signed 27 cooperation agreements during the former's state visit to Indonesia, deepening collaboration in defense and energy, among other areas, the Indonesia Business Post reported on May 29.

France, Indonesia: Paris, Jakarta Deepen Defense, Energy Ties

China

Economics

China and Indonesia signed 12 cooperation agreements during Chinese Premier Li Qiang's visit to Jakarta, including a central bank memorandum of understanding to promote the use of yuan and rupiah in bilateral trade, the Jakarta Globe reported on May 26. 

China, Indonesia: Countries Deepen Trade Ties, Boost Yuan-Rupiah Mechanisms

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Malaysia hosted the inaugural Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Gulf Cooperation Council-China trilateral summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Channel News Asia reported on May 27.

Asia-Pacific, MENA: ASEAN-GCC-China Inaugural Summit Marks Deeper Economic Alignment

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is set to appoint former Lieutenant General Djaka Budi Utama, who previously served in the army's controversial Tim Mawar unit, as Director General of Customs and Excise, The Jakarta Post reported May 22.

Indonesia: President Taps Former General for Top Customs Role

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations finalized negotiations for version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, expanding the deal to cover digital trade, green cooperation and enhanced supply chain integration, Reuters reported May 21.

China, ASEAN: Negotiations Conclude for Upgraded Trade Deal

The Indonesian military conducted an operation on May 14 in Papua island's Intan Jaya administrative zone that resulted in the deaths of 18 suspected separatist militants and three civilians, as well as the evacuation of around 1,000 residents and the seizure of a sizable cache of weapons and ammunition, The Jakarta Post reported the next day.

Indonesia: Military Operation in West Papua Kills More Than 20

Australia

Newly reelected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will make a state visit on May 14-15 to Indonesia, the Jakarta Globe reported on May 13.

Australia, Indonesia: Albanese's First Post-Election Trip To Focus on Supply Chains, Trade and Defense Ties

United States

Indonesia and Thailand are reshaping energy import strategies to boost economic ties with the United States ahead of looming tariff deadlines, Reuters and the Bangkok Post reported respectively on May 9.

Indonesia, Thailand, U.S.: Jakarta and Bangkok Seek Energy Realignment To Avert Tariffs 

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French President Emmanuel Macron holds a press briefing during his trip to Singapore on May 30, 2025. 

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The deals reached with Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam expand France's role in Southeast Asia amid shifting global trade and defense dynamics, a welcome development for a region increasingly pinned between the U.S. and China.

Macron's Southeast Asia Tour Deepens French Footprint in the Region

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto speaks during an economic event in Jakarta on April 8, 2025.

The president's efforts to consolidate power via welfare populism and security-minded governance could face challenges if economic headwinds strengthen, especially amid looming U.S. tariff threats.

How Subianto Is Making His Mark on Indonesian Politics

Timor-Leste

The flags of the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, are seen on display.

Malaysia's chairmanship will be pivotal in navigating security risks as well as those from U.S. trade restrictions, potential Chinese economic coercion, and supply chain realignments that threaten ASEAN's cohesion and strategic autonomy.

Previewing Malaysia's 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship

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The lobby of the headquarters for the U.S. Agency for International Development is seen on Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 

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Cuts to U.S.-funded humanitarian and development programs could worsen global health outcomes, destabilize security environments, accelerate democratic backsliding, and create opportunities for rival powers to expand their influence.

The Global Implications of Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts

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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hold a joint press conference on Jan. 10, 2025.

Japan is intensifying its diplomatic and security engagement in Southeast Asia through defense, trade and infrastructure agreements to counterbalance China and enhance regional stability.

Ishiba Strengthens Japan's Role in Southeast Asia With Defense and Trade Deals

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The West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 17 in Washington. Donald Trump will be inaugurated as U.S. president on Jan. 20.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: The Gaza Ceasefire, Trump's Inauguration

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U.S. President Joe Biden gestures to reporters after landing on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C. 

Trump's more aggressive and transactional approach could deliver quick wins for the U.S.'s position in the region, though it could also strain ties with key partners. 

Trump's Asia-Pacific Approach Will Test Biden's Gains

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Vehicles pass by a banner thanking outgoing Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and congratulating President-elect Prabowo Subianto and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka ahead of their Oct. 20 inauguration in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 17, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: An Impeachment Case in Kenya, an Inauguration in Indonesia

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What are the major issues on Subianto's policy agenda? 

Essential Geopolitics: What to Expect from Indonesia's New President

Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (center) and other ASEAN leaders take part in the 2024 ASEAN summit in Vientiane on Oct. 9, 2024. 

The deals signed at the summit reflect an increasing focus on economic integration amid the Southeast Asian bloc's continued failure to find consensus on security issues.

Reviewing the 2024 ASEAN Summit

Indonesian Defense Minister and President-elect Prabowo Subianto (center) is seen next to outgoing President Joko Widodo (right) in the parliament building in Jakarta on Aug. 16, 2024. 

The defense minister-turned-president will maintain his predecessor's efforts to bolster Indonesia's economy while adopting a more hawkish stance abroad, particularly on the country's territorial dispute with China.

In Indonesia, Previewing the Prabowo Presidency

The flags of ASEAN members are displayed at a naval base during the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise in Batam, Natuna regency, Riau Islands province, Indonesia, on Sept. 20, 2023. 

ASEAN's economic and geopolitical diversity will impede significant progress toward deeper integration, despite members' intention to collaborate more closely.

Economic and Geopolitical Diversity Hinders ASEAN's Path to Deeper Integration

The geopolitical foundation of modern Indonesia is the seas and ports that integrate the country's islands that stretch from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. Of Indonesia's more than 17,000 islands, about 6,000 are populated by more than 300 ethnolinguistic cultures. The Dutch first consolidated large parts of modern Indonesia by the 19th century, and maintaining political unity of its culturally diverse islands poses the nation's primary geographic challenge. Indonesia's main island, Java, is home to about 60 percent of the country's population, with its largest ethnic group being the Javanese. Java is also Indonesia's agricultural heartland, producing coffee, sugarcane, rubber and rice. A spine of east-west volcanic mountains runs along the southern reaches of the island. These mountains orient Java's population to the north, toward the Java Sea. The Java Sea is the core of Indonesia, with the Karimata Strait, the Makassar Strait and the Flores Sea linking the main island of Java to its outer islands, stretching from Sumatra to Sulawesi to western New Guinea. These islands have been critical sources of oil, natural gas, copper and tin. Indonesia's disconnected landmasses and vast maritime stretches present difficulties and limitations to centralized control, as seen with the independence of East Timor in the 1990s and ongoing separatist concerns in Aceh and Irian Jaya. Holding this island nation together has required a strong central authority to balance regional aspirations and national interests &mdash; although it has tried to balance tight control with empowerment of regions in recent decades. Ultimately, Indonesia is burdened by the conflicting requirements of managing the populations of each island while expending resources to control its maritime core.

SITUATION REPORTS

France, Indonesia: Paris, Jakarta Deepen Defense, Energy Ties

China, Indonesia: Countries Deepen Trade Ties, Boost Yuan-Rupiah Mechanisms

Asia-Pacific, MENA: ASEAN-GCC-China Inaugural Summit Marks Deeper Economic Alignment

Indonesia: President Taps Former General for Top Customs Role

China, ASEAN: Negotiations Conclude for Upgraded Trade Deal

Indonesia: Military Operation in West Papua Kills More Than 20

Australia, Indonesia: Albanese's First Post-Election Trip To Focus on Supply Chains, Trade and Defense Ties

Indonesia, Thailand, U.S.: Jakarta and Bangkok Seek Energy Realignment To Avert Tariffs

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