His responses were ineffective, targeted at maximising media attention rather than achieving concrete results. The key to success is a dual strategy of bilateralengagement with Southeast Asian nations and multilateral engagement with ASEAN. More information on Ben can be found here: http://benbland.me, FutureScreens NIOrmeau Baths18 Ormeau AveBelfast BT2 8HS. Watch the full interview for insights on how industry thinks about deglobalization, the U.S.-China rivalry, the war in Ukraine, and much more. Watch the full interview for insights on how industry thinks about deglobalization, the U.S.-China rivalry, the war in Ukraine, and much more. WebBen Bland. At the Lowy Institute, he also wrote analysis papers examining the state of Indonesian democracy and the potential for the Australia-India-Indonesia trilateral relationship, among other research projects. 38. Irans Protests Are Nowhere Near Revolutionary, Washington Might Let South Korea Have the Bomb. Sometimes he gels with his counterparts and ignores his formal talking points, and at other times he reads out speeches in robotic fashion. He cheekily added: "(*creative licence may have been used in this description)". 5. Keen to coax Jokowi into taking action, one adviser made the case in terms that the President might accept more readily. And a study by the London-based Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases from March estimated that as few as 2% of Indonesias coronavirus infections have been reported. And the President rarely spoke about it again, not even mentioning foreign policy or maritime issues in his second-term inauguration speech in 2019. But while this king of infrastructure has made progress in reducing Indonesia's massive infrastructure deficit, Bland argues that Indonesia is still riddled with heterodox economic thinking which defies the laws of economic competitiveness. Help using this website - Accessibility statement. Explore the benefits of your FP subscription. In terms of financial resources, the UK should look to maintain or increase its developmentspending in Southeast Asia, despite overall budget cuts and the fact that more SoutheastAsian states are now classed as middle-income countries. Balancing national security and national prosperity a range of views and the call for a range of resources. But Jokowi, as the President is known, was struggling to comprehend the relevance of events beyond Indonesias own waters. If the UK government is serious about competing with China, it has endless avenues to workwith both governments and civil society in Southeast Asia to demonstrate the benefits ofengaging with democracies that respect human rights, value environmental protections andembrace transparency and openness. He is more interested in attracting financial assistanceand China has not disappointed as it is now financing many infrastructure projects. Ben Bland paints an insightful and intriguing portrait of Indonesia's leader in his new book, Man of Contradictions: Joko Widodo and the struggle to remake Indonesia. A monthly digest of the top articles read by FP subscribers. (As if talking so much that the other person's ear is moved back.) That will require more personnel, more expertise and more financial resources. someone else chipped in. Ben started at the BBC an incredible seven years ago. Some ASEAN member-states remain sceptical about the UKs commitment to the region, soBritish ministers will need to maintain their recent pace of visits to Southeast Asia if theywant to be seen as more serious long-term partners. At the start of his second term, Jokowi appointed Mahendra Siregar, a respected diplomat and former finance official, as deputy foreign minister, with a specific focus on economic diplomacy. It raises the question: How do companies with large global footprints decide which side to pick? More importantly, he thought that, just as with democracy, foreign policy should be put to work to boost his overriding obsessions: the economy, infrastructure and his personal bank of political capital. The rising middle classes across the region willgenerate strong demand for the products and services that Britains diverse corporate sectorprovides. Jokowi has also been feted by many Western politicians and pundits who have been seduced by his charms. Ben has a twenty-year career split between London and Belfast, working within agencies, small-to-medium size businesses, NGOs, and as a freelancer. Economic diplomacy: Borders, barriers and obstacles, For real peace, Afghanistan needs a Plan B, Economic diplomacy: Indonesia trade, ASIO business & deglobalisation, Indonesia considers trade options post TPP. We are the Bent Ears! One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Published daily by the Despite its importance, the region remains woefully under-covered by UKuniversities and think-tanks, with not a single full-time research fellow dedicated toSoutheast Asia at the various leading think-tanks based in London. 30. Bland quotes former Indonesian Finance Minister Chatib Basri, who once told him: Indonesia always disappoints. It feels a significant time to do it, because of a similar decision made around a century ago adding an historic symmetry to all this. Benjamin Mark Bland (born 13 May 1984 in Countesthorpe, Leicestershire ), known professionally as Ben Boulos, is an English presenter and journalist for the BBC News, specialising in business for UK and global audiences on programmes including Business Live, Talking Business and World Business Report, as well as being one of the main relief presenters for BBC World News, BBC News Channel and BBC World Service which operates globally to an estimated weekly audience o But as I reached the end, I was yearning for more of his views on what could happen next in the Indonesia story. I was brought up in the Coptic Orthodox faith one of the oldest Christian denominations in the world and that link to my heritage continues to this day when I attend services that are conducted in a combination of English, Arabic and Coptic. 15. While the pandemic has dented economic growth in Indonesia,the countrys medium-term prospects are robust. 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The President took a similar scatter-gun approach to the maritime disputes that have increasingly troubled Indonesia. The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week. Indonesia has the presidency of the G20 in 2022 and, more broadly, it is keen toplay a bigger role in global institutions, many of which have withered on the vine in recentyears. The UK has a very solid base of political, economic and social capital in Southeast Asia uponwhich it can build in the years ahead. The ASEAN Outlook on the IndoPacific, which was adopted in 2019, was little more than a restatement of ASEANs main principles: peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for international law and, most importantly, non-interference in other nations internal affairs. The Indo-Pacific Tilt will not prove meaningful unless it leads to a permanent step-change inthe pace, breadth and depth of Britains engagement with Southeast Asia, which lies at thegeographic and geopolitical heart of the broader Indo-Pacific region. Indonesian President Joko Widodo has a laser-like focus on promoting economic growth, sothe best way to get his backing is to support his ambitions to build more physicalinfrastructure, improve education and healthcare, and accelerate the shift to a digitaleconomy. It is an easy mistake to make. Remember the adage that generals always fight the last war? I like to think she would feel happy about that and see my decision as being driven, much like hers, by pragmatism in response to shifting attitudes instead of feeling bound by sentimental obligation to a sequence of letters chosen a century ago., Followers congratulated Boulous on his name change, while his name buddy Benjamin Bland tweeted: Congrats on the new name Ben. Indonesias south-east Asian neighbours, meanwhile, were mostly turning inwards as they too faced intractable domestic problems. I have wondered whether changing from the name Bland is somehow disloyal to the memory of my great-grandmothers wise decision, without which I may not be here. While ASEAN is often seen by outsiders as a forum for tackling geopolitical challenges,Southeast Asian governments are much more focused on domestic problems and howASEAN can help them resolve these. Add this topic to your myFT Digest for news straight to your inbox, Economic and political turmoil at home is undercutting our Indo-Pacific ambitions, Presidents infrastructure success has defined him. Thisshould be supported by deepening the UKs strategic conversations and cooperation onSoutheast Asia with other important partners such as the US, Australia, the EU and Japan. Done correctly, therefore,enhanced engagement with ASEAN, as an organisation, and Southeast Asian governments,in their own right, should be mutually reinforcing. The adviser had stumbled upon an important lesson: if you want to understand Jokowi the politician, you must understand Jokowi the furniture maker. In discussing it with my father, to make sure he would not be offended or upset by it, he reminded me that Bland itself was a chosen name. As an adult, I feel proud of it and want to celebrate and highlight a part of my background that has such a big influence in shaping who I am.. Despite good relations between ASEAN member-states, domestic politics remain unstable incertain key countries and there are pockets of turbulence elsewhere. Southeast Asia is on the frontlines of the climate crisis. 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