Why does the government remain at odds with the vast majority of its neighbours?

A first for Southeast Asia is worth celebrating. But infrastructure spending still must prove itself effective.

Indonesia’s experience with TikTok shows the challenges posed by social media-e-commerce hybrids.

Momentum is building, but global pledges for no new fossil fuel expansion come with a lot of caveats.

Has the bullet train project strained the once tight relationship between Indonesia and China?

Family drama rarely translates into good politics as Indonesia already knows all too well.

The benefits outweigh the costs for one of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic emerging economies to join the “club”.

The President has a downstreaming vision and needs long-term capital to make it reality.

Poverty, institutional incapacity and budget cuts fuelled a surge in pandemic piracy. The lessons are many.

A pyrrhic military cooperation or building capability for future contingency?

Jakarta’s policymakers need to leverage the country’s soft power to advance its global clout.

Australia’s experience and reputation can support Southeast Asia’s aim of multipolarity. And it doesn’t need to be flashy.

An intercepted ship-to-ship transfer raises a series of interlinked questions about sanctions, pollution and the reach of international law.

Your weekly Interpreter feature about issues, resources or helpful distractions that might otherwise be missed.

The famed journalist Adinegoro sent reports in the 1920s that captivated his homeland and hold a potent message for today.

Air pollution is crippling Indonesia’s capital just as the country prepares to host regional leaders.

Increasingly active on the world stage, the President will leave a imprint on foreign policy that is likely to endure.

An old idea for a regional network might hold the answer for energy demand into the future.

UNCLOS ambiguity, again.

Australia faces tough choices from aid to energy in a new world of government intervention in trade and industry.

Look up and live takes on a new urgency in the digital age.

A regional value chain for battery production – with Australia to process critical minerals and export these products – is too good a chance to ignore.

A new book throws light on the 1965 massacres – but the government’s redress for victims is yet to extend to justice for the perpetrators.

Australia and Indonesia may be riding together in a new electric diplomatic limo, but they still have separate roadmaps.

Despite the flourishing bromance between Albanese and Jokowi, the Lowy Institute Poll shows an ongoing need to deepen public understanding and familiarity on both sides.

The President has a roadmap for economic success that could also set bilateral relations on the right path.

The 71-year-old former general has a hard man image but has deployed a different tack in his third try for the presidency.

Ensuring sustainability is crucial to fully realise the environmental benefits of a switch away from fossil fuels.

A shared history of cultural influences has today revealed surprising gaps between the two nations.

India and China get the plaudits, but Indonesia is also taking impressive digital strides capitalising on local talent.

Between Myanmar, China and a neighbour with ambitions for nuclear subs, an already full agenda awaits.

Identity politics has been deployed to rally public support and smear rivals.

If stronger “people-to-people” links are the aim, experience from the world’s oldest living culture offers a guide.

Existing regional mechanisms can accommodate diverse interests in Southeast Asia without the need for a new forum.

The Just Energy Transition Partnership can be a model for other countries to accelerate energy systems transformation.

Despite expected differences with Indonesia, Australia also underplays how fast its regional approach has changed in just a decade.

It would be a mistake to assume enhanced defence cooperation means the two countries share a strategic outlook.

With a new capital to build, Indonesia can benefit from directing Chinese investment.

Indonesia and Australia have different but equally critical roles in bringing the junta to the negotiating table.

International law includes passage rights for all vessels in archipelagic waters – during peace or wartime.

There are vast opportunities to build new industries when you’re sitting on the globe’s largest reserve of rare earth.

Indonesia’s finance minister has built a brand for cracking down on corruption. Could she campaign all the way to the top?

Gen Zs, Millennials, TikTok and climate change: it’s going to be a numbers game for next year’s presidential candidates.

Demand for EVs is driving domestic and foreign direct investment in the country’s minerals sector. But caution is needed.

A stalled deal with South Korea means both countries must overcome defence cooperation challenges to look to the future.

Shared information will help with rescue efforts and to pursue the leaders in people smuggling outfits.

A new source of natural gas within the controversial “nine-dash line” should revive questions about sharing access.

Jakarta’s call to legislate its informal workforce should be a model for all countries that receive migrant workers.

The fascinating story of how Indonesia came to better know itself through a time of repressive regimes.

Indonesia’s police, military and prisons were altered by the 2002 attack. Democratic backsliding may signal an undoing.