Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

China

Timor-Leste

Indonesia

Laos

Malaysia

Myanmar

Philippines

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Economics

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (CAFTA) 3.0 upgrade at the ASEAN leaders' summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Channel News Asia reported on Oct. 28. 

China, ASEAN: Trade Pact Upgrade To Expand Bloc's Market Access

Military & Security

Politics

The Indonesian military has seized roughly 3.7 million hectares of private palm oil plantations and around 30% of national acreage, transferring nearly half to the new state-run agency Agrinas Palma Nusantara, Reuters reported on Oct. 23.

Indonesia: Militarization Deepens With Palm Oil Plantation Seizures

The Indonesian army launched an operation in Soanggama village, located in Central Papua province's Intan Jaya regency, and claimed to kill at least 14 suspected militants of the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the separatist Free Papua Organization, AP reported on Oct. 16.

Indonesia: Army Clash With Papuan Rebels Kills 14

United States

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Israel-Hamas Conflict

A U.S. defense official said Indonesia, Azerbaijan and Pakistan were leading contenders to contribute troops to a post-war Gaza stabilization force, as talks continued for the second phase of the Trump peace plan meant to permanently end the Israel-Hamas war, Politico reported on Oct. 15.

Indonesia, Gaza, U.S.: Trump Throwing Wide Net for Multinational Force in Gaza

Canada

Indonesia and Canada signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in Ottawa on Sept. 24 that eliminates or significantly reduces tariffs on over 90% of Indonesian exports to Canada and 95% of Canadian exports to Indonesia, which mostly consist of agricultural products, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 25. 

Indonesia, Canada: Jakarta, Ottawa Ink Trade Deal 

In a speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pledged recognition of Israel on the condition that Israel also recognizes Palestinian statehood, the South China Morning Post reported on Sept. 24. 

Indonesia, Israel: Conditional Recognition Tied to Palestinian Statehood

Europe

Indonesia and the European Union announced they will sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on Sept. 23 after nearly a decade of negotiations, the Financial Times reported on Sept. 17. 

EU, Indonesia: Trade Agreement To Be Finalized After More Than Nine Years

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto unveiled a $1 billion stimulus package that combines social aid, infrastructure jobs and tax relief, the Jakarta Globe reported Sept. 15.

Indonesia: Jakarta Launches $1 Billion Stimulus Following Weeks of Protests

Assessments

U.S. President Donald Trump (center) poses for a group photo with the leaders of (L-R) Singapore, East Timor, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia and Laos during the ASEAN leaders summit on Oct. 26, 2025. 

Global Trade

U.S.-China Relations

The summit highlighted the Southeast Asian bloc's attempts to boost internal unity and economic integration amid the U.S.-China rivalry, but it also exposed structural divides and external pressures that hinder unified action and leave ASEAN states vulnerable to coercion.

The Takeaways From the 2025 ASEAN Summit

Columns

On Security

Kenya

Madagascar

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Chile

Ecuador

Peru

Jordan

Lebanon

Morocco

Tunisia

Turkey

Serbia

Bangladesh

Nepal

Fire rages through the Singha Durbar, the main administrative building for the Nepal government, in Kathmandu on Sept. 9, 2025, after youth protesters set fire to the building. 

Recent events in Nepal, Madagascar and elsewhere show how digitally coordinated, leaderless protests can succeed, but eventually face even larger challenges in sustaining the momentum for change.

Worldwide Gen Z Protesters May Be Disappointed With Their Success

A protest in front of police headquarters Aug. 31 in in Surabaya, Indonesia. Mass protests are poised to continue absent unlikely and large government concessions, but President Prabowo Subianto's position will remain secure.

While mass protests are poised to continue absent unlikely and large government concessions, President Prabowo Subianto's position will remain secure. 

Unrest in Indonesia Will Continue, but Not Dislodge the Government

Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

Paraguay

Uruguay

Venezuela

United Arab Emirates

Japan

South Korea

The Geopolitics of Trade

Mercosur is increasingly opening its markets in pursuit of free trade agreements with partners around the world, particularly as U.S. protectionism shifts global trade dynamics.

The Geopolitics of Trade: What Changing Trade Dynamics Mean for Mercosur

Snapshots

Containers are unloaded from a ship at a terminal of Tanjung Priok Port, the main seaport in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Jan. 24, 2025. 

In exchange for a lower U.S. tariff rate, Indonesia accepted significant concessions, including purchasing commitments and regulatory changes, that risk limiting its long-term autonomy and industrial policy goals.

To Avoid Steeper Tariffs, Indonesia Reaches High-Stakes Trade Deal With the U.S.

The impending full implementation of sweeping U.S. tariffs threatens to significantly disrupt export-driven ASEAN economies, which is driving countries to seek alternative trade partners.

The Geopolitics of Trade: U.S. Tariffs Give Impetus to ASEAN Trade Diversification

France

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

Energy

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

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

Sub-Saharan Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ethiopia

Tanzania

Americas

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Cuba

Haiti

Nicaragua

Iraq

Syria

Yemen

North Macedonia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Albania

Kosovo

Ukraine

Russia

South Asia

Afghanistan

India

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

Social Issues

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

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

Germany

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.

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

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

China, ASEAN: Trade Pact Upgrade To Expand Bloc's Market Access

Indonesia: Militarization Deepens With Palm Oil Plantation Seizures

Indonesia: Army Clash With Papuan Rebels Kills 14

Indonesia, Gaza, U.S.: Trump Throwing Wide Net for Multinational Force in Gaza

Indonesia, Canada: Jakarta, Ottawa Ink Trade Deal

Indonesia, Israel: Conditional Recognition Tied to Palestinian Statehood

EU, Indonesia: Trade Agreement To Be Finalized After More Than Nine Years

Indonesia: Jakarta Launches $1 Billion Stimulus Following Weeks of Protests

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