Indonesia
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Global Commons
Indonesia bolsters military health care infrastructure with 26 new hospitals
Gusty Da Costa Indonesia’s health care landscape expanded dramatically in February 2024 with the inauguration of 26 military hospitals to serve armed forces personnel and their families as well as local communities. The facilities also will serve as centers of medical education, and research and development, according to the country’s Defense Ministry, known as Kemhan. Showcased by the 28-floor, 1,000-bed…
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Climate
Indonesia Defense University pioneers sustainable housing solutions in flood-prone areas
Tom Abke Sustainable housing is a priority for the Indonesian government, including its defense establishment. With millions of homes at risk from natural disasters in the world’s fourth most-populous country, the Indonesia Defense University, known as Unhan RI, launched an initiative to build floating and stilt houses in a fishing village in northern Jakarta. The project promises to be a…
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Partnerships
Multilateral Cobra Gold returns to Thailand with all-domain drills, humanitarian focus
FORUM Staff More than 9,500 participants and observers from 30 nations joined forces in Thailand in February and March 2024 for exercise Cobra Gold, the largest post-pandemic edition of the annual security cooperation drills co-hosted by Thailand and the United States. Cobra Gold kicks off in Thailand in late February 2024 with opening ceremonies, live-fire and medical evacuation training, and…
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Partnerships
Indonesia, Singapore forge closer defense industry ties
Gusty Da Costa Long-standing defense cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore is key to maintaining peace and security in the busy Malacca Strait and the wider South China Sea, officials and analysts say. Complementary capacities within the nations’ defense industries, coupled with reciprocal security needs, could usher in greater defense industry collaboration, thanks in part to recent agreements and initiatives. The…
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Partnerships
Thailand, U.S. to hold annual military drills with troops from 30 nations
Radio Free Asia Thailand and the United States will stage annual, large-scale military drills in late February 2024, with more than 10,000 troops from 30 nations expected to participate. As part of the maneuvers, Thai and U.S. personnel will salvage the Royal Thai Navy corvette HTMS Sukhothai, which sank during a storm in the Gulf of Thailand in December 2022,…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Indonesian Air Force modernization strengthens sovereignty, regional stability
Gusty Da Costa The Indonesian Air Force’s acquisition of fighter jets from France and the United States underscores its major modernization strides and strengthened interoperability with partner nations. Experts say the advances bolster Indonesia’s efforts to protect its territory amid a military buildup by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which is conducting unlawful activities in the South China Sea…
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Partnerships
Southeast Asian nations strengthen regional unity
FORUM Staff Southeast Asian nations are increasingly willing to act on issues requiring collective defense and cooperation, as evidenced by the mid-January 2024 talks in Hanoi between Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo on strengthening joint maritime security and commerce. The leaders “reaffirmed the importance of peace, stability … and freedom of navigation” in the contested…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
ASEAN demonstrates solidarity as PRC drags feet on South China Sea code of conduct
FORUM Staff Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members are reinforcing partnerships that uphold stability in the South China Sea. Recent diplomatic efforts come as an increasingly aggressive People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims decadeslong talks on a code of conduct (COC) for the crucial waterway are “going smoothly.” Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met…
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Global Commons
Indonesia’s Garuda Contingent vital force for global peacekeeping
Gusty Da Costa From Lebanon to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and six other conflict zones, more than 2,700 Indonesian troops are deployed on United Nations peacekeeping operations, making the Southeast Asian country the eighth-largest contributor of personnel. Since 1957, over 24,000 Indonesian peacekeepers have served on U.N. missions, and Jakarta recently released a two-year plan to boost…
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Global Commons
Nations consider trade route alternatives as Malacca Strait nears capacity
FORUM Staff Minutes after midnight on July 11, 2021, the bulk carrier MV Galapagos and the container ship Zephyr Lumos collided as the behemoths transited the Malacca Strait off the coast of southern Malaysia. The enveloping darkness of sea and sky would have been pierced by the stream of navigation lights from some of the more than 250 vessels that…
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