Jakarta will control airspace above the Natuna Sea and be free to repatriate wealthy fugitives, while Singapore’s armed forces will be able to train in Indonesia.

Indonesia is showing strong appetite to developing virtual initiatives as tech giants such as Facebook eye building their own metaverses in Southeast Asia.

The name, meaning ‘archipelago’ was chosen by President Widodo to underline diversity, but some point out it also has links to a once all-conquering empire.

An Indonesian tycoon’s US$150,000 donation to 24-year-old Loh underscores his rising popularity in a nation that boasts its own top players.

Indonesia’s top diplomat has put land and maritime boundary talks with the country’s Asean neighbours high on her agenda again this year.

The US$132 billion project in North Kalimantan promises to spur Indonesia’s ‘economic transformation’, the president says, but activists fear the environmental impacts of the hydroelectric dams being built to power it.

China’s largest overseas supplier of coal is set to review an export suspension brought about by a shortfall in local stockpiles. Power outages would pose a political challenge for Indonesia’s leader Jokowi.

Jokowi hopes the Bali International Hospital will be able to reverse US$7 billion from being spent annually by Indonesians seeking medical treatment overseas.

The debate seems to re-emerge every year in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. Analysts say it shows how deep-rooted identity politics have become in Indonesian society.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange will wind down operations in the city-state. As some Asian governments try to balance regulation and investment, Dubai is ramping up plans to be a hub for virtual assets.

Rape cases have in the past months been dominating Indonesian headlines, including incidents at Islamic boarding schools, or pesantren.

The United States’ top diplomat accused Beijing of distorting open markets, claiming open seas for its own and wielding trade as a weapon in a speech at the University of Indonesia.

The US Secretary of State’s trip coincides with a visit to Jakarta by Russian leader Putin’s National Security Adviser.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicks off his maiden Southeast Asia tour on Monday amid a push to strengthen military partnerships with the region in new frontiers of competition with China.

#JusticeForNoviaWidyasari has been trending after a 23-year-old was found dead. She was allegedly raped by her police officer boyfriend, but the authorities came under fire for contradicting her claim, highlighting dwindling public trust towards them.

Leaders from Jakarta have pledged to develop the resource-rich Natuna Islands, to promote unity and fend off overlapping border claims from Vietnam and China. Indonesia lost two islands to Malaysia under an International Court of Justice decision in 2002.

Despite 76 years of independence, many Indonesians still view lighter-skinned Westerners as superior, President Joko Widodo said in a recent speech – an inferiority complex observers say other former colonies in Asia share.

Americans have to wait months for goods from China, but a Singles’ Day mega-shopper in Singapore who bought 191 items has received most of their packages already.

The sportswear giant’s latest shoe collection is supposed to ‘celebrate cultural heritage’. Instead it has prompted a row over the origins of the art form.

A “shift in perceptions” accelerated by the pandemic, has seen a growing awareness of the health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy has long struggled between development and conservation – preferring ‘sustainable forest management’ to zero deforestation.

The move by Sukmawati Sukarnoputri would be considered blasphemous in other Muslim-majority nations.

Declassified documents reveal a shadowy UK propaganda unit helped fuel the anti-communist massacre that followed the failed coup of September 30, 1965, and led to the rise of the dictator Suharto.

Harnessing solar power is key to Indonesia meeting its green goals, with analysts saying Southeast Asia’s largest economy could also export renewable energy. But it’ll need reforms and to give up on its ‘addiction’ to coal.

Religious, political and child welfare groups have reacted angrily to the plot twist, calling for boycotts and even arrests.

Expressions of love by fans include rap songs and Indomie-scented candles, while Indomie is the prison food of choice in Victoria, Australia.

Japan’s Masayoshi Son and Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-shing’s Horizons Ventures have also funded start-ups in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Puan Maharani and Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, both scions of political dynasties, are among the potential candidates in the 2024 election whose visages have been plastered on billboards across the country.

Envoy Sung Kim responds to regional concerns over the US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine pact, saying it is ‘not directed at any particular country’.

The proposed Jakarta-Bandung-Surabaya railway project could lead to a debt trap, analysts say, while Indonesia’s ties with long-time investor Japan could also weaken.