Victor Andres "Dindo" Manhit’s Post

#Indonesia - At White House, Indonesia's new leader straddles US-China rivalry - from Voice of America: President Joe Biden and President Prabowo Subianto met Tuesday at the White House, marking the 75th anniversary of U.S.-Indonesia relations, part of a multination visit by the newly inaugurated leader of Southeast Asia's largest economy. "I will work very hard to strengthen Indonesia and United States relationship," said Prabowo, who goes by his first name. Biden said he looks forward to deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest level among nontreaty allies, which the two countries signed in 2023. "That includes deepening our security cooperation," he said before their meeting. In brief remarks to the press, Biden twice raised an issue of concern for Washington: freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. He said he wanted to strengthen the U.S. partnership with Indonesia, "by advancing [a] free and open Indo-Pacific." "We'll discuss, also, global challenges, including in Gaza and the South China Sea," he said. The White House meeting came days after Prabowo's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where Indonesia and China signed a series of agreements valued at about $10 billion and focusing on infrastructure, green energy, digital technology and agriculture. "In the present situation, geopolitical and geoeconomic, Indonesia and China have become very close partners in many, many fields," Prabowo said. One of the deals is to jointly develop fisheries, and oil and gas exploration in waters around Indonesia's Natuna Islands where China's "nine-dash line" marking its expansive claims in the South China Sea overlaps with Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone. Critics say the agreement risks implicitly validating China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, which, according to the United Nations, has no basis in international law. VOA asked the White House whether Biden was specifically referring to this deal in his meeting with Prabowo. "We continue to encourage Indonesia to work with their legal experts to make sure any agreement they make with the PRC is in accordance with international law, especially the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea," said Karine Jean-Pierre. Beijing claims the major shipping route almost entirely, infringing into the EEZs of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. All but Indonesia formally dispute the Chinese claim while Taiwan makes a claim to the sea similar to Beijing's. "It's a big deal for Indonesia," as a non-claimant country in the South China Sea dispute that supports the concept of a "free and open Indo-Pacific," said Klaus Heinrich Raditio... "People will question our position," he told VOA. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry clarified Sunday that it remains firm in rejecting China's nine-dash line. Story continues: https://lnkd.in/e25Vus2q

Our Co-Executive Director Kate Ferguson's piece for Prospect UK 📰 "Scrapping the Rwanda plan, restoring financial support to UNRWA and dropping political objections to the application for Benjamin Netanyahu’s International Criminal Court arrest warrant are steps in the right direction, but also the very least that we should expect from a progressive foreign policy. If Lammy is to implement what’s been promised, he must put human rights at the centre, not let them become a side issue. This should make good sense to the realists as well as the progressives. After all, no strategy towards Russia or China can truly succeed in the long term without addressing Vladimir Putin’s or the Chinese Communist Party’s deliberate violations of rights and of international law. Likewise, any policy on the changing climate, evolving technology and AI or democracy must reckon with rights, power and violence. The foreign secretary has promised to reverse the last government’s efforts to undermine parts of the international system. He will need to go further. From Afghanistan to Ukraine to Sudan to Gaza, the last government made catastrophic decisions where human rights were deprioritised or ignored. Many of Britain’s biggest recent international policy mistakes come from failing to recognise or prepare for the risks that mounting rights deficits posed to the safety of whole populations, as well as regional, and at times global, security. Starting to undo this and establishing a progressive foreign policy requires (at least) two things. Both are cheap, although neither is necessarily that easy." Read the full article here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ejsR8WEk

Has Indonesia fallen into China’s nine-dash line trap? Aristyo Rizka Darmawan 12 Nov 2024 A new Indonesia-China joint statement betrays Indonesia’s national interest and looks like a big win for Beijing. This is a contradictory and reckless policy, dangerous for Indonesia and for the region. Recognition of China’s nine-dash line claim also has implications for the ongoing negotiation of the ASEAN-China South China Sea Code of Conduct (CoC). During negotiations for the CoC, Indonesia has made it clear that all claims in the CoC should be based on a legitimate claim under UNCLOS. Therefore, the recent statement seems to betray Indonesia’s own position, upheld by the Foreign Ministry for many years. So, this statement has significant implications for negotiation of the CoC, and exposes that ASEAN countries do not have a unified position in the negotiations with Beijing. Other ASEAN claimant states may feel betrayed by Indonesia’s recognition of the nine-dash line claim, which they have firmly and jointly rejected up to this point. Lastly, this statement may also have implications for the recent Indonesia-Vietnam EEZ delimitation agreement, which has not yet been ratified by the Indonesian parliament. In 2022, Indonesia and Vietnam concluded a 12-year negotiation. The agreement was considered significant because it showed that ASEAN states are capable of settling their overlapping maritime boundary disputes through peaceful negotiations. Moreover, the agreement showed clearly that both Indonesia and Vietnam do not recognise China’s nine-dash-line claim, despite protests from Beijing after it was concluded. Indonesia’s recognition of China’s overlapping claim contradicts the Indonesia-Vietnam EEZ agreement. Indonesia has yet to ratify the agreement, and the recent statement recognising China’s overlapping claim now creates uncertainty around ratification. The joint statement between Indonesia and China has betrayed Indonesia’s national interest and seems to be a huge win for Beijing. It is consequential for Indonesia’s sovereign rights to use resources in its EEZ and continental shelf, and has significantly changed the political constellation and solidarity of ASEAN claimant states in the South China Sea.

The constant delays in implementing trade regulations are a recurring issue, not just in the UK and EU, but globally. While governments have good intentions, the reality is that these delays disrupt businesses who invest time and money preparing for new rules. This uncertainty leads to businesses holding back on international growth, hindering their potential. For example, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is another looming change. Businesses understand their responsibilities, but in a volatile international market, governments need to provide consistency and clarity. Constant changes and new regulations make it difficult for businesses to plan and invest in international expansion. Governments must recognize their crucial role in fostering a stable environment for businesses to thrive. They must strive for timely and predictable implementation of trade regulations to encourage, not hinder, international growth.

The future of the UK-Mauritius Chagos Islands deal is in question. As tensions rise, could this agreement face a major reversal? Explore the political implications and what this means for both nations. Learn more: #AfricanBusiness #PoliticsInAfrica #ChagosIslands #Mauritius #InternationalRelations

https://lnkd.in/gkdBffuB. China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) 欧盟中国商会 decries European Commission investigations of #China #industrialsubsidies which are undermining the business environment and the rise of a greener #Europe. #FDI #protectionism #industrialpolicy #levelplayingfield #electricvehicles #solarpanels #Romania #economicprotectionism #nondiscrimination World Trade Organization

As an International Trade student and a geopolitics entheusiast, I would like to express my concern about the current events, especially after the ''historic'' comeback of Donald J. TRUMP as the head of the most powerful office in the free world. Trump has ideas about strenghtening the United States' control over the western hemosphere of the world, ideas like taking over the Panama canal, or buying the self-governing GREENLAND island (which is the biggest island in the world) for ''international security reasons'' and offering Canada the opportunity to be the 51st state. But the most alarming part is the threats he made to these countries if they don't abide. To panama, he threatened to use military power to acquire what was historically a US property (the panama canal), and to danemark (the lawful owner of Greenland) and Canada he was more polite, he threatened using considerable tariff raises on every product that they want to get into the american market. These ideas can be acceptable if we were living in the 19th century, but now we have something called a UN charter, and according to that, these actions are war crimes, and that is the threat that lies in these statements : WEAKENING MORE THE INTERNATIONAL LAW, which is already weakened by the violations of the IDF and the US running to raise its hand in the UN security council in their defence. Furthermore, these numerous statements by the president of the United States will give the legitimacy to countries like China to acquire Taiwan which has ''historically'' been theirs for centuries, or to Russia to acquire Ukraine which is a matter of national security for the russians, for there is no care for international law anymore and they should do what's best only for their national interests. The last idea I want to share and also the one that concerns me more is the huge resemblance between the current events and the events before the second world war. For instance, there was an international economic crisis in 1929 which made the streets angry and paved the way for more radical political parties to see the day and gain popularity, and we had an international crisis in 2020 followed by another one in 2022; in addition, the League of Nations (predecessor of the United Nations) failed to stop Italy from invading Ethiopia, or Nazi Germany from invading Poland, and now we saw that the UN couldn't stop the conflict in Ukraine, or the genocide in Gaza, or any other conflict in the world for that matter. We live in very challenging times where the future becomes more and more uncertain, and unless the leaderships find ways to work together, we might be in deep trouble in the coming years.

EU-Faroe Islands Relations: A privilege to brief Ambassasors of EU Member States. The recent agreement between the EU and the Faroe Islands represents a milestone in our relations, marking the beginning of a new chapter characterized by broader cooperation across various domains. It also provides a platform for regular dialogue and can and should be used to make interlinkages between issues and to be a vehicle for promoting both EU and Faroes long term interests for example in terms of market access and sustainable management of fish stocks.

🔥📃 The EU needs a bonfire of regulations to regain its competitiveness! 📈 EU legislation increased by more than 700% since the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty 30 years ago and by more than 100% since the Treaty of Lisbon came into effect in 2010. The period of exorbitant regulation increase also coincided with the sluggish economic growth of many old member states. 🌐 To regain our economic competitiveness, and to avoid lagging behind peers such as the United States and China, the next European Commission has to start with a bonfire of regulations and ensure that the Single Market is complete. My full article on Brussels Report: https://lnkd.in/e4isDCqG

Meet and share perspectives with a delegation under the auspices of the Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Committee of the Dutch House of Representatives Meet and share perspectives with a delegation under the auspices of the Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Committee of the Dutch House of Representatives in Taipei. Lots of issues were covered, including regional and local economic development, geopolitics, #ESG and #sustainability, and foreign direct investment in Taiwan.