A wildlife official reported on Thursday ( Jul 4 ) that Malaysian authorities have rescued hundreds of smuggled tortoises intended for sale in Southeast Asia, breaking the” Ninja Turtle Gang,” an international crime organization. 400 tortoises for US$ 805, 084 were seized on Saturday during an operation by the officersContinue Reading
The Asean colleagues make a number of positive contributions to improving surveillance and avoidance, thanks to the Environment Minister.
PUBLISHED: 3 Jul 2024 at 22: 11
Environment Minister Phatcharavat Wongsuwan says Thailand has reiterated its commitment to working with local partners to increase efforts to combat intergovernmental haze pollution.
At a gathering of an Asean sub-regional ministerial committee on cloud waste in Bangkok on Wednesday, Pol Gen Phatcharavat made the declaration. Representatives from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand were represented, along with young Asean part Timor- Leste as an spectator.
He expressed his gratitude for the efforts made by members to track, watch, and avoid transnational cloud waste in the Asean deal. The creation of the Southeast Asia Fire Danger Rating System and the creation of the Asean Coordinating Center for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control have been significant improvements.
In Thailand, he said, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, together with the Royal Forest Department, observe flames on peat and agricultural areas in the South during the flames period from July to September, in an attempt to minimize impact on people’s health and environment.
The two-day gathering ended up with a positive statement, affirming cooperation in limiting transnational haze pollution effects, and bringing up updated technology and information sharing to improve outcomes.
The southern Asean region’s Asean Specialized Meteorological Centre ( ASMC) anticipates above-normal rainfall in the upcoming months. However, there remains a danger of intergovernmental haze occurring. Some fire-prone places can still be predicted to have hotspots with smoke plumes or cloud, especially during cooler months.
PM views the potential investor as the Dubai transportation big.
PUBLISHED: 3 Jul 2024 at 18:51
DP World, a global supply chain and logistics big based in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, has shown interest in exploring opportunities in regional initiatives including the 1-trillion-baht Land Bridge venture.
Srettha Thavisin, the prime minister, and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the group’s chairman and CEO, met at Government House on Wednesday to talk about possible funding options.
The prime minister made a point of emphasis on the government’s plan to make the country a local transportation hotspot.
We discussed the state of Thailand’s general economy and the path of investments in several projects, which aim to transform our nation into a local transportation hub by utilizing its unique geographic location, which connects the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, as a hub for trade and transport both regional and global, according to Mr. Srettha.
He emphasized the need for international investors to invest in these projects, establishing Thailand as a totally integrated economic hub in the area.
Mr. Srettha praised Thailand’s good economic direction and its appeal to foreign investors.
Suriya Jungrungreangkit, the chancellor of travel, expressed his satisfaction with the DP World president and executives. They met in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
In addition to opening its Southeast Asia grouping office in Bangkok, DP World furthermore runs box terminals at Chon Buri province’s busiest foreign port, Laem Chabang Port.
According to Mr. Bin Sulayem,” DP World continuously looks for opportunities to invest in nations with the potential for substantial economic growth.”” These nations have the potential for substantial economic growth, but friction and obstacles in the supply chain have created challenges,” he said.
”With our knowledge, from slots and terminals, economic zones through to travel, logistics and systems, we are ideally placed to help clean the flow of business. “
DP World has 111,000 people in more than 75 locations. It handles around 10 % of worldwide box customers. In Asia Pacific, it employs more than 7,000 officers, and operates ships and stations in 19 areas.
Mr. Suriya recently stated that DP World had expressed interest in the Land Bridge job, and that Mr. Bin Sulayem and Mr. Srettha were scheduled to discuss a potential joint venture on Wednesday.
The project aims to create a mega-logistics system that links Ranong on the Andaman coast with Chumphon state in the Gulf of Thailand.
According to Mr. Suriya, the government had been given the task of communicating to DP World’s professionals regarding the project’s viability.
DP World ’s meet with the Mr Srettha underscores the charm of the initiative to shareholders, the minister said, adding he was convinced it would get live during the administration’s tenure.
On Wednesday, Mr. Srettha also spoke with his Chinese equivalent Sonexay Siphandone.
He responded online by offering to speak with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay of the PDR to discuss cooperation in combating drug smuggling.
This problem serves as both a popular national agenda for Thailand and Lao PDR as well as the rest of the region. “
PM views the Dubai-based logistics company as a potential buyer in Land Bridge and other businesses.
PUBLISHED: 3 Jul 2024 at 18: 51
According to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, DP World, a global leader in supply chain and logistics with a base in Dubai, is interested in looking into investments in local initiatives, including the$ 1 trillion-baht Land Bridge venture.
Sultan Ahmed al Sulayem, party chairman and CEO of DP World, and Mr. Srettha met on Wednesday at Government House to talk about possible investment opportunities.
The prime minister made a point of highlighting the government’s plan to make the country a local transportation hub.
We discussed Thailand’s general economy and the direction of investments in a number of projects, which aim to change our nation into a provincial transportation hub by utilizing its unique geographic location, which links the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, as a hub for trade and transport both regionally and globally, according to Mr. Srettha.
He emphasized the president’s need for international investors to invest in these enterprises, establishing Thailand as a completely integrated economic hub in the area.
Mr. Srettha praised Thailand’s appeal to foreign investors and its positive economic direction.
Suriya Jungrungreangkit, the secretary of travel, expressed his satisfaction with a second meeting with DP World’s professionals. They met in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
In addition to opening its South Asian office in Bangkok, DP World also runs box stations at Chon Buri’s busiest foreign port, Laem Chabang Port.
” DP World keeps looking for opportunities to invest in nations with the potential for substantial economic development, but where resistance and obstacles in the supply network have presented challenges,” said Mr. al Sulayem.
” With our knowledge, from ports and connectors, economic zones through to travel, shipping and technology, we are ideally placed to assist even the flow of trade”.
Founded in 2005, DP World handles 70 million container units, brought in by around 70, 000 ships per year, accounting for 10 % of global container traffic. It operates 82 ships in 40 countries and employs 111, 000 people in more than 75 states in all. In Asia Pacific, it employs more than 7, 000 staff and operates ships and terminals in 19 areas.
Mr. Bin Sulayem and Mr. Srettha were scheduled to discuss a potential joint expenditure on Wednesday after Mr. Suriya recently claimed that DP World had expressed curiosity in the Land Bridge job.
The project aims to create a shipping link between Ranong on the Andaman beach and Chumphon state in the Gulf of Thailand.
Mr. Suriya praised the conference between DP World executives and the prime minister for highlighting the charm of the job to investors and for him to say that he was convinced that it would begin operations in the current administration.
While the investigation surveyed 44, 166 people in 35 states between January and May 2024, CNA focused on the studies related to four South Asian states: Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
Of the interviewees in the 35 countries surveyed, Malay had the most beneficial view on Russia.
” Malaysia is the only country where a majority express a favourable opinion of Russia, with nearly six in 10 ( 57 per cent ) Malaysians saying this”, the report said.
In a survey conducted by the United States-based think tank “immediately following ( the country’s ) invasion of Ukraine,” 47 % of Malaysians had a favorable opinion of Russia.
Likewise, 34 per share of Singaporeans expressed a favourable view of Russia in the latest study, up six percentage points from 2022.
In addition, 46 % of Thai respondents and 46 % of those in the Philippines have favorable opinions of Russia. These two states, however, were hardly polled in Pew’s 2022 study.
And within Thailand and Malaysia, 65 per share and 63 per share of people below the age of 35 both have a good view on Russia, according to the study. Singapore and the Philippines did not have data on the breakdown by time group.  ,
On the whole, however, perspectives on Russia were not advantageous.
” Overall, a median of 65 per cent of adults in the ( 35 ) surveyed countries have an unfavourable view of Russia, while 28 per cent have a favourable view”, the report found.
It continued,” While rankings have improved somewhat in several countries since last year, although views of Russia usually remain negative.”
In Malaysia ( 61 % ) and the Philippines ( 56 % ), Mr. Putin enjoys widespread support. Individually, 45 per cent of those in Thailand viewed the Belarusian leader warmly.
According to the Pew report,” Malaysia and the Philippines are the only two countries surveyed where the majority of people express confidence in Putin, including about two in ten people in each nation who have a lot of trust in the Soviet president,” according to the Pew statement.
From the study conducted in Malaysia in 2022, respondents who had confidence in Mr. Putin increased by two percentage points.
In addition, there is a rise of 37 % of those in Singapore who believed in Mr. Putin to “do the right item regarding earth interests” compared to the 36 % a year ago.
According to Dr. Storey, Malaysia’s general opinion of both Mr. Putin and Russia is usually higher than another Asian nations’, according to Dr. Storey.
This problem has grown even more significant for Malaysians since the start of the Israel-Hamas battle in October 2023. Internationals are frequently critical of the United States ‘ position on the battle, and more supportive of Russia’s stand”, he said.
He added:” There are other factors also. Puttin is seen as a” standard values” supporter of the LGBTQ and ‘wokeism’, which appeals to traditional Malay.
Dr. Storey cited the rise in Russian support among Singaporeans as saying that he” ca n’t think of any other reasons to account for this rise other than the Israel-Hamas war.”
” Many young Singaporeans have been upset about ( it ), both Muslims and non- Muslims. Often, Russia is viewed fondly not because people are pro- Soviet but because they are anti- National”.
Meanwhile, Mr. Thomas Daniel, a Senior Fellow with the Institute of Strategic and International Studies ( ISIS ) Malaysia, stated for CNA that the average Malaysian’s opinions may be affected by their general opinion of the West’s policies. He added that this view was largely sceptical and critical.
Some people would be more willing to believe those who are portrayed as” contra-West” in the case of the Russo-Ukraine war.  , If the wicked West is at fault, as they more often are, the other side may absolutely be in the right. It’s a extremely simplistic view of the world, but one that we must accept, he said.
A particular military operation was authorized by Mr. Putin in eastern Ukraine in 2022. Following decades of military deployment along the country’s borders, Ukraine was under stress to join NATO, a military alliance of more than 30 nations in Europe and North America.
The University of Tasmania’s James Chin, a professor of Asian reports, thinks the conflict in the Middle East is not a “big problem in this part of the world” in comparison.
The majority of the Muslim population, as well as a sizable percentage of the non-Muslim population, considers Russian support for the Palestinian issue as a very important factor, according to Dr. Chin, which is the number one factor in why Malay and Singaporeans have a better opinion of Russia and Putin, particularly in Malaysia.
However, Dr Storey added that Russian tales have found “fertile earth” in Southeast Asia.
Some people have sympathy with Russia’s state that the NATO expansion’s east expansion caused it to attack Ukraine, he said.
Beyond that, Dr. Storey also outlined the justifications for why he thinks Mr. Putin has performed well among South Asian interviewees.
He said:” Across the place, Putin has frequently favourable ratings according to his perceived masculine, solid- man image, and because he is viewed as standing up to the West”.
Prior to a conference in July 2024 marking the 75th commemoration of NATO’s establishment, the Pew Research Center survey was made public. A 33 % of adults in the study’s 13 member nation polls have a good view of NATO, compared to a middle of 63 % who are in favor of it.
Separately, world scores of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are combined, more than two centuries since Russia’s invasion of his land.
Victim is thought to have been targeted by a rival drug gang in eastern Canada.
PUBLISHED: 3 Jul 2024 at 14: 40
A former French soldier has admitted guilt in relation to the death of Canadian gang Jimi Sandhu in Phuket in February 2022.
On the first day of Matthew Dupre’s test in Bangkok, the Vancouver Sun  reported that he entered the innocent appeal on June 27.
Dupre acknowledged his involvement in the serious, qualified attack at a seaside hotel on the southern trip area, according to Sgt. Brenda Winpenny of the anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement System in the state of British Columbia.
On February 4, 2022, two unusual men shot Jimi” Slice” Sandhu in Phuket and were captured on surveillance videos outside the Beachfront Hotel. Sandhu had been staying in a private shore palace directly opposite the resort. Artificial American identification and money were discovered in the residence.
Sandhu, 32, was a member of the United Nations crew in Vancouver. He was born in local Abbotsford, but he was deported to India in 2016 because of his grave criminal history.
He had been visiting Phuket regularly since 2016 and moving in and out of there. At the time of his death, he was wanted in India for pharmaceutical smuggling, had just been banned from Malaysia, and had spent stretches of time in Vietnam. Thailand’s authorities said they thought he was a part of substance smuggling throughout Southeast Asia.
He left Phuket around Christmas 2021 after renting the palace where he passed away in November 2021. Before departing the land, he was spotted attending a extravagant New Year’s Eve party at the five-star Amari Watergate Hotel in Bangkok, according to the Sun. He returned on Jan 27, eight weeks before his death, flying in on a secret flight from Malaysia.
According to the Thai authorities research, Dupre and Lahrkamp made their way to Phuket International Airport on December 18, 2021. On February 8, 2022, both returned to Canada and were soon identified as death suspects.
American authorities, investigating at the urging of their Thai rivals, suspected the killing was linked to a gang rivalry in British Columbia. They searched Dupre’s house in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, the house of co- accused Gene Lahrkamp, and the Ontario house of a second suspect, who was never charged.
Dupre was detained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at his Sylvan Lake residence on February 20, 2022.
Lahrkamp perished on board a , a smaller plane that crashed close to Sioux Lookout in northeastern Ontario on April 30, 2022, despite being still at large.
Dupre agreed to become deported in May 2023 and has been a prisoner since. He has been incarcerated in Bangkok. In order to meet American demands for extradition, Thai officials agreed to waive the death sentence in the case.
Dupre and Lahrkamp both served in the Canadian Armed Forces, leaving as cadets. Dupre served from 2005- 13 and Lahrkamp from 2012- 18, the Sun reported.
Dupre claimed to have been involved in battles with ISIS while eventually working as a secret military company in Syria and Iraq. His posted list of abilities includes “hand to hand combat, innovative war and sniper”.
Toh served as senior curator at the National Gallery Singapore ( NGS ) before moving to the UK, where she co-curated major photography exhibitions like Chua Soo Bin: Truths and Legends ( 2019 ) and Living Pictures: Photography in Southeast Asia ( 2022 ). The first paid tribute to the 92-year-old social medal winner and fine-art photographer.
In 2023, she even published a book, Imagining Singapore: Pictorial Photography from the 1950s to the 1970s.
She was chosen for her session at Tate because of her expertise in South Asian art. Despite the university’s great age – it was established in 1897– it just started to build its pictures collection around 15 years ago, and is now expanding the collection quickly.
The biggest difference between working at Tate and NGS, said Toh, is the range. The amount of drawings I have access to and the amount of programs and events I may clergyman has greatly increased, which is why I took the job.
Curation, if nothing else, is storytelling. And Toh felt the need to tell a bigger tale after weaving numerous tales of Singapore and Southeast Asia up residence. This particular international collection allows me to” challenge the history of photography and the history of art,” I thought, which I could n’t do in Singapore.
So, Tate’s decision was a “very normal step.”
A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Toh’s second training in this regard, Global Pictorialism, is gradually taking shape. From around the 1880s to the 1940s, a global movement of pictures and aesthetics was well-liked in Europe and North America. Henry Peach Robinson, Alfred Stieglitz, and Edward Steichen were a few of the most notable portrait photography.
Pictorialists focused on creating ambient images to elicit emotions by using a variety of techniques rather than the cameras to record truth. Photographs in this style were typically printed in brown or blues rather than dramatic black and white, with soft focus and artistic effects.
In the West, pictorialism gradually gave way to a newer tone: Modernist images. Toh contends that the art form has been around much longer than American lore. ” In Singapore, for instance, the level of pictorialism was the 1950s. What I’m trying to do in this show is take all that up into the narrative”, she said.
JAKARTA: Despite having the fourth-largest population in the world, boasts the largest Arab politics on the planet, is at the center of a crucial region in terms of geopolitical issues, and consistently punches below its weight on the international stage.
The non-aligned movement’s leader Sukarno and its leader Suharto, who played a key role in the Cold War, have kept a low profile since democratization in 1998.
As political leaders have focused on promoting a post-authoritarian social order while promoting economic growth,” a thousand friends and negative enemies” has become a national anthem.
New President- elect Prabowo Subianto, but, properly herald a more effective approach to Indonesia’s international matters.
For the past century, Indonesian foreign policy has run on a somewhat successful driver. When he took office in 2014, president Joko Widodo, aka Jokowi, declared to his supporters that he would never afterwards waste his time in this manner and that he would merely change his mind after being prodded.
Indonesia’s international affairs were in the hands of Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, a career diplomat who adhered to Indonesia’s traditional place of non-alignment between great powers while strengthening regional relationships, with the exception of a deluge of national politics around the G20 hosted in Bali in 2022.
Prabowo, officials say, can be expected to get a far greater interest in foreign policy. Unlike Jokowi, Prabowo, 72, has spent much of his living overseas and is comfortable doing business in English.
Insiders claim that he is eager to leave a lasting reputation, an impulse that frequently prompts leaders to appear to successes abroad, despite the decades of hard work he has pursued the presidency. His rumored poor health and his age probably give off a sense of urgency.
What will this then imply for both the area and the rest of the world? Prabowo, the nation’s present defense minister and a previous special forces common, is known to have a firm preoccupation with Indonesia’s sovereignty, a short- fuse temper and a penchant for away- the- cuff comments.
At the same time, officials argue he is finally a realist. He wo n’t likely get too far away from Indonesia’s customary policy of careful non-alignment and good ties with all, which Prabowo has already rhetorically committed, along with fiery asides about the need for greater national strength, thanks to geopolitical realities and a talented foreign ministry bureaucracy.
Some credit the original president Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur, whose cautious career diplomats kept his frequently innovative foreign policy inclinations under control.
On the main political problem of rising US- China conflicts, Indonesia, like most ASEAN powers, has much interest in being drawn into a duel.
China is Indonesia’s second-largest investor, and it actively participates in important infrastructure tasks and the corporate metal industry. There are powerful opportunities to keep relationships on an even keel despite tensions over China’s nine-dash series, which overlaps with some of Indonesia’s regional waters.
America’s economic relationship, on the other hand, is commonly viewed as unsatisfactory but the US is also valued as a security companion, weapons supply and large counterweight to China. Prabowo, who has long emphasized the value of military power and is looking to international partners to support an ambitious military modernization program, holds this to be especially significant.
So far, China has arguably played a defter hand in wooing Prabowo. That was apparent when Prabowo was invited for an official visit to Beijing before he was formally proclaimed president, which was a strange step.
The US, meanwhile, has reportedly left Prabowo feeling somewhat slighted. The Americans notably waited until his victory was formally approved over a month later as ambassadors gathered to congratulate him on his victory on February 14.
The ex-soldier’s alleged interest in Prabowo’s ability to enter the US while serving as defense secretary was also reportedly piqued by the complication that allegedly prevented him from entering the country even after a visa ban related to allegations of human rights abuses dating back to the 1990s was lifted.
Still, there’s little sign these sore feelings will greatly affect Prabowo’s foreign policy. Despite his own feelings for Indonesia and the US, Prabowo consistently strengthened them, including by increasing joint military exercises.
Indeed, there’s a certain expectation in Jakarta that Prabowo’s preoccupation with security might motivate him to put more distance from China than Jokowi, who visited the country eight times in 10 years as president.
Prabowo is expected to take a stronger stand against Chinese intrusions into Indonesian territorial waters, though few people see him going as far as the Philippines, which has dramatically changed its attitude and behavior toward China under Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s US-aligned rule.
Indonesian stalwarts on foreign policy seem to welcome this as a necessary correction from Jokowi’s conceited lack of understanding of the situation.
Prabowo’s ostensible desire to contribute more to the world might inspire him to raise Indonesia’s voice on current crises. In 2023, at the Shangri- La Dialogue defense talk shop in Singapore, he shocked many, not least the Indonesian foreign ministry, by using his speech to propose a peace plan for Ukraine.
He once more reiterated his peace proposal at the conference this year, giving his support for Indonesia’s participation in a fictitious UN peacekeeping force in Gaza, though this time the foreign ministry appears to have been informed in advance.
Myanmar, where the coup-installed junta’s position appears more vulnerable on the battlefield, might conceivably also draw his attention as the risk of regional blowback rises.
Given that the conflicts are unresolvable and that Indonesia has no known influence over developments in Gaza or Ukraine, how much he could accomplish in any of these foreign policy areas is still a mystery.
Myanmar, which is technically still a member of ASEAN, may offer opportunities for Indonesia to serve as a mediator between the military and rebel groups. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Indonesia successfully facilitated the mediation of peace in Cambodia.
Any successful intervention in Myanmar or other countries would require close cooperation with his foreign minister and the diplomatic bureaucracy. Crucially, Prabowo is expected to replace Retno as the nation’s top diplomat.
The minister has typically been a technocrat who has risen through the bureaucratic ranks and whose personality aligns with the president’s since the Reformasi era. However, it’s already rumored that Prabowo might use a former prime minister or other ally.
Roesan Roeslani, businessman and former ambassador to the US who played a key role in Prabowo’s presidential campaign, Fadli Zon, a member of Prabowo’s Gerindra party, Dino Pati Djalal, former deputy foreign minister and key foreign policy advisor under president Susilo Bambang Yudhyono, and Meutya Hafid, a Golkar party member and chair of the parliamentary foreign policy committee, have all been suggested as possibilities.
While all would be unconventional choices, most would likely be serviceable, though there may be doubts about their mastery of the bureaucracy.
The only person who stands out is Fadli Zon, a combative politician known for his ties to Islamist organizations, his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his blatant prejudice against Chinese Indonesians. whose appointment to the top position would alarm everyone, both domestically and abroad.
Who Prabowo eventually settles on, technocrat or otherwise, will perhaps be the best indication of the priorities of a man who, despite being a veteran of Indonesia’s politics, policymaking and military affairs, retains a streak of unpredictability and penchant for springing surprises.
Joseph Rachman , is a Jakarta- based freelance journalist covering , Indonesian , and ASEAN news. Follow him on X at @rachman_joseph
With Indonesia’s announcement to implement a 100 to 200 % tax on China’s labor-intensive goods, Beijing’s efforts to boost trade relations with nations in the Global South have taken a hit.
The fourth-largest country in the world is drafting rules to implement anti-dumping duties and protect measures on cheap Chinese goods like shoes, clothing, electronics, ceramics, and bags, according to several Indian officials over the past couple days.
On June 27, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati announced that she will collaborate with the Minister of Trade and the Minister of Industry to create regulations enforcing the enactment of Anti-Dumping Duties and Safeguard Measures ( ADD and SM) on Chinese products.  ,
According to Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan on June 28, the steps will help the country combat the effects of the continuing trade dispute between China and the US. He said the new China-specific tariffs will go into effect once the relevant legislation is published.  ,
He added that Indonesia may follow the US’s example by imposing tariffs on imported clothing and ceramics to ensure its little manufacturers can survive and prosper.  ,
Indonesia’s fresh tariffs go along with China’s plan to advance its Global South method, which rely on emerging areas in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America to accept Chinese goods that are currently facing US trade barriers as a result of the ongoing Sino-US trade war.
Nearby textile associations have asked the government to move in after an flood of cheap products apparently hurt their businesses, according to Budi Santoso, the industry ministry’s director- general of international trade. He stated that the Indonesian Trade Safeguards Committee is conducting an investigation and may make a statement to the state in due course.  ,  ,
At least 13, 800 textile workers have been laid off this year as a result of local textile makers closing their factories as the domestic market is increasingly flooded with imported goods, according to Ristadi, president of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers ‘ Unions ( KSPN). According to him, there could be as many as 50 000 lay-offs in reality.  ,  ,
Ristadi claimed that the influx of closures was mostly caused by a change in rules earlier this year that eased import restrictions on ready-made clothing.  ,
He Wenping, a professor at the Institute of West- Asian and African Studies ( IWAAS ) at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences ( CASS), wrote in an article published on Monday that “it is unfair that Indonesia changed its own import regulations to import more goods but then criticized China’s so-called “overcapacity.”  ,
She argued that Indonesia may reconsider its deal plan if it wants to cooperate with China in expanding its tourism industry and that it would not tolerate any behavior that disparages Chinese goods in the name of “overcapacity.”  ,
According to Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency, the Southeast Asian country’s bilateral trade with China fell 14.7 % to US$ 127.1 billion in 2023 from$ 149.1 billion in 2022.  ,
During the same period, China’s exports to Indonesia fell 12.8 % to$ 62.2 billion from$ 71.3 billion while China’s imports from Indonesia plummeted 16.5 % to$ 64.9 billion from$ 77.7 billion.  ,
Indonesia’s trade deficit with China contracted to$ 2.7 billion last year from$ 6.4 billion in 2022. Indonesia’s exports to China contain natural substances such as awaruite ( an alloy of nickel and iron ), ash, fuel and palm oil.
China’s imports to Indonesia include broadcasting products, smartphones, laptops, building vehicles, metal plates and electrical appliances.  ,  ,
Last year, China shipped about$ 500 million worth of toys,$ 1 billion of footwear,$ 2.5 billion of textile products and$ 430 million of ceramic products to Indonesia. About 7 % of China’s exports to Indonesia came from these four different types of light market products.  ,
Didi Sumedi, producer standard for National Export Development at Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade, said in early 2024 that the country aims to boost its exports to China again to approximately$ 65- 70 billion this year.  ,
A Sichuan-based columnist named Xiaoying wrote in an article published on Tuesday that” the rationale behind Indonesia’s 200 % tariff on Chinese goods is a far-fetched.” ” Is the proposed new taxes really overcome Indonesia’s problems from the source”?
The anonymous author claimed that the pressure on Indian businesses was not caused by Chinese goods but rather by the changing environment in worldwide trade markets. Indonesia may also try to figure out its own advantages, the author argued, while China has maintained its profitability by improving its companies.  ,
Xiaoying wrote that “blindly imposing tariffs against China may harm the basis of Sino-Indonesian relations and create more issues for Indonesian trade.” ” I believe Indonesia will not choose to leave China because the two countries have very promising assistance prospects,” he said.
Another Chinese commentators cited another instance of Asia’s growing protectionionism, which is related to India’s latest discussion of imposing tariffs on Chinese metal imports. They claimed that the Sino-US business war’s spillover effect will have an affect on both regional economic cooperation and international relations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping made the remarks at the Conference marking the 70th celebration of the Five Rules of Calm Cooperation in Beijing on June 28 that “developing governments should work together to stabilize the world and contribute to resolving issues around the world.”  ,
According to Xi, China has started the Five Principles of Calm Coexistence in an effort to shield the interests and aspirations of small and weak nations from power politics.
China’s most powerful chief added that the principles have established a significant academic foundation for a more just and equitable global purchase and absolutely oppose imperialism, colonialism, and hegemonism.
Beijing has referred to the Five Principles of Calm Coexistence as Xizang since last year as the name of the document that former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai first proposed in 1953 during discussions with the Indian government regarding Tibet-related border issues.
Zhou traveled to India and Myanmar in June 1954, where he signed combined remarks with the leaders of the two countries, affirming the five tenets as the foundation of their relationship.
The Asian-African Conference held in Indonesia in 1955 affirmed the importance of the five principles, leading to the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement, which, ironically, was spearheaded by Indonesia to increase the political liquidity of the Global South in discussions with developed countries.  ,
Read: Beijing: fresh Treasury rules sum to ‘ decoupling’
Following Jeff Pao on X:  , @jeffpao3
The Asia Pacific region is currently facing a significant gap in the race to fund decarbonisation – estimated at $US1.1 trillion by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
However, this is not the only problem for a region whose coal-fired economies represent around half of global emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.
China alone accounts for 35% of global CO2 emissions, the agency says.
Speakers at the Sustainable Finance Asia Forum 2024 said that regulators will need to rebalance sustainable investment priorities – placing more emphasis on adaptation rather than mitigation – if the region’s most heavily polluting emerging economies are to meet their carbon zero targets.
Debanik Basu, the head of responsible investment and stewardship APAC at APG Asset Management, told a panel on harnessing transition finance for sustainable transformation that investment in mitigation (reducing greenhouse emissions at source) now represented the majority of transition funding.
He said the often more complicated task of climate adaptation – the need to change systems, behaviours and whole economies – was receiving scant attention.
“Currently the region is getting around $300 billion in transition finance so there’s a massive gap that needs to be addressed,” he told the conference. “Even within the small portion of finance that we are getting, more than 80 per cent of the funds are moving towards mitigation.
“Consensus estimates suggest that ideally it should be 50/50 between mitigation and adaptation.”
He said the other critical problem was that aspects of climate finance were not well understood and appreciated by the market overall, in particular within the agriculture and forestry segment.
“When you look at the NDCs (Nationally Determined Contribution) put out by a lot of countries, there are specific targets around climate change, but there aren’t explicit targets around forestry and agriculture,” he said.
“And even when there are targets, there is no clear roadmap. What all this means is that the institutional capacity is lacking. There are gaps in infrastructure and there are gaps in knowledge.
“As an investor, conversations with companies around biodiversity are at a very nascent stage.”
A question of taxonomies
Kristina Anguelova, senior advisor and consultant on green finance strategy APAC at the World Wildlife Fund, told the conference that regulation was moving in the right direction, guided by hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong.
She added that the unofficial rivalry between Hong Kong and Singapore in terms of developing regulatory taxonomies was having a positive effect on the transition finance landscape in the region.
“I think the competition between Singapore and Hong Kong in this case is a good thing because it’s advancing regulation in the region quite a bit,” she said. “The Singapore Asia Taxonomy lays out transition taxonomy criteria across eight sectors.”
While the regulation is tailored to Singapore, she said she believed it would lay foundations for others to follow.
“It’s so important as a regulatory piece because it can serve as an incentive for investors to start to scale transition finance comfortably and confidently without the loopholes and the risks of potentially being accused of greenwashing,” she said.
In terms of biodiversity, she highlighted the nascent stage of biodiversity finance compared to climate finance, discussing the need for capacity building, regulatory clarity, and financial instruments to support nature-based solutions.
A case in point, she said, is the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) which is developing standards aimed at developing a high-quality, comprehensive global baseline of sustainability disclosures focussed on the needs of investors and the financial markets.
“On biodiversity, I think we’re moving a bit slowly, but we’re getting there. Obviously coming from a science-based NGO, efforts can never be fast enough,” she said. “But the good news is that the ISSB will also be integrating the TNFD or the Task Force for Nature-related Financial Disclosures soon.
“Those jurisdictions that have adopted or committed to the ISSB will also be adopting those nature regulations.”
The challenge as always, she added, was that regulators had to strike a balance between mitigating financial risk and overregulating such that it slowed economic development.
Blended solutions
Building capacity, both speakers argued, would be critical to transition finance solutions to climate change and that new instruments, particularly in blended finance, were likely to be leading the charge.
“We are seeing beyond transition bonds to different types of instruments that are designed to go into blended finance structures such as transition credits which are based on the assumption that we can get carbon savings out of early retirement of coal-fired power plants,” Anguelova said.
One avenue that was currently being explored in a number of jurisdictions was concessionary capital: i.e. loans, grants, or equity investments provided on more favourable terms than those available in the market.
These terms could include lower interest rates, longer repayment periods, grace periods, or partial guarantees.
Of these instruments, Basu said, guarantees were evolving as one of the methods currently being pursued in several markets.
“What we are also seeing is that, apart from concessionary capital, a lot of public institutions are more comfortable with providing guarantees instead of direct capital because that then keeps the overall cost of capital down,” Basu said.
“It might be at a very nascent stage – and it is difficult to say if this is going to be the future – but it is developing,” he said.
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