Delivered Monday-Friday. Ben initially teased the news on Instagram as he wrote: "Something VERY exciting is happening for the first time tomorrow hence the massive grin!". Ben Bland is the director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute. Luhut would become an ever more regular presence on Jokowis foreign trips. That prompted me to think about my name and whether I should change it for clarity and to avoid confusion.. http://loopers.co/ Ben has a twenty-year career split between London and Belfast, working within agencies, small-to-medium size businesses, NGOs, and as a freelancer. They decided on the blandest name possible literally to ensure their survival. Southeast Asia is on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Beyond traditional areas of civil society focus such as the environment, law reform, genderequality and media freedom, the UK should be more active in promoting digital rights anddigital literacy in Indonesia. Ben has a twenty-year career split between London and Belfast, working within agencies, small-to-medium size businesses, NGOs, and as a freelancer. AP. From Brentford to the world: The Interpreters 2021 favourites, UKs Indo-Pacific tilt not just for the good times, Building stronger Australia-Indonesia ties, Indonesia: Still caught between trade and protectionism, New crackdown will deepen dividing lines in Hong Kong, COVIDcast Episode 6: Geopolitics and the pandemic. That is even more so in the case of Jokowi. EastEnders and Waterloo Road pulled from BBC One tonight, Someone played 'porn noises' as a prank live on BBC during Wolves vs Liverpool, Ken Bruce quits BBC Radio 2 after 31 years - but don't worry, he's taking PopMaster. 26. It is hardly surprising that the GDP per capita of a country such as Thailand, which has suffered from much greater political instability, is some 55% higher than that of Indonesia, according to World Bank data. Your guide to the most important world stories of the day. He is more interested in attracting financial assistance, and China has not disappointed. However, Boulos admitted that there was more to his decision than confusion with another journalist. 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. September 15 10. Both the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong democracy movement are settling in for a long and painful struggle. BenBlandis aformer Director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute. The FCDO couldbenefit from the country experience, contacts and new ideas that outside experts bring,across a range of activities, from traditional diplomacy to trade and investment, anddevelopment cooperation. Influencer shows off booty workout as fans troll her for 'uncomfortable' outfit, Mum-of-three Tammy Hembrow shared a clip of her leg day on Instagram where followers couldn't help but notice what she was wearing for the gruelling booty workout. someone else chipped in. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. It seemed more like a game of whack-a-mole than a proper plan. The President took a similar scatter-gun approach to the maritime disputes that have increasingly troubled Indonesia. It took only a short while, however, for complaints to emerge. The UK has a substantial pool of political, economic and socialcapital in Southeast Asia but the battle for influence is heating up. Published daily by the 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. But times change, thankfully for the better. Indonesia and the Philippines, the only ASEAN member-states with truly competitiveelectoral systems, have experienced a decline in the quality of their democracy, withgovernments critics and civil society groups under growing pressure. Sometimes he gels with his counterparts and ignores his formal talking points, and at other times he reads out speeches in robotic fashion. Although Indonesia was not directly involved, some of Jokowis top diplomats wanted him to push back against China by making a strong public statement in defence of international law and freedom of navigation. Lowy Institute, Screen time in Palu, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia (Basri Marzuki/NurPhoto via Getty Images). Has Joko Widodos Power Peaked in Indonesi But to my mind, the clear message from Blands text is that optimists will be far more disappointed than the pessimists. The key to success will be understanding the real challenges of doing business in Indonesia, rather than wishing them away, so thatcompanies, with the support of government, are better placed to overcome them. Of late, we at FP have been wondering: What can Russias war in Ukraine teach the world going forward? Indonesia is the most populous nation in Southeast Asia, a G20 economy, the worlds thirdbiggest democracy and the worlds biggest Muslim-majority nation. Watch the full interview for insights on how industry thinks about deglobalization, the U.S.-China rivalry, the war in Ukraine, and much more. He is interested in attracting investment from whomever has the most cash and the fewest conditions. For Future Tuesdays Ben Bland presented his Future Screens NI Rewriting the Narrative funded project Neoco: Tools & Patterns for Progressive Operations. As China escalated its struggle with its south-east Asian neighbours for control of the regions rich fishing grounds and reserves of oil and gas, there were some initial signs that Jokowi would take a more resolute stance. Indonesia, sadly, is littleknown in the UK. Before joining the Lowy Institute,Benwas an award-winning foreign correspondent for theFinancial Times, with postings in Jakarta, Hanoi and Hong Kong and experience reporting across China and Southeast Asia over the previous decade. to talk to someone, perhaps annoyingly. Think about it from the perspective of a furniture exporter, he said. You can see more of Ben Bland on Youtube by just searching for "Ironically Bland". In Myanmar, the juntais struggling to govern the country, despite being in nominal control, and the spectre of anescalating multi-front conflict looms large. The FCDO could learn from how Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade hashelped the development of a broad network of non-governmental partners that fosterrelations with Southeast Asia (including the Lowy Institute, where the Southeast AsiaProgram is supported by several Australian government grants). Ben Bland is the director of the Southeast Asia program at the Lowy Institute. Bland quotes former Indonesian Finance Minister Chatib Basri, who once told him: Indonesia always disappoints. 21. We are a local music group in the San Luis Valley who is very verse in music styles. 17. But he was driven by evolving events, rather than seeking to control them. Put Southeast Asia at the centre of the UKs Indo-Pacific Tilt. It is ironic that Jokowi, a leader who prides himself in being responsive to the concerns of the public, has not done more to improve the countrys health system. More likely is that jockeying between the two great powers makes it even harder for ASEANto adopt a cohesive response to shared challenges; or that growing economic linkagesbetween China and its neighbours in Southeast Asia create a path dependency that leavesSoutheast Asia enmeshed in a Beijing-dominated sphere of influence. The Indonesian government is also trying to increase trade diplomacy with partner countries through bilateral agreements. 374 likes. Although the UK government is looking to deepen its engagement across the Indo-Pacific, itcannot possibly hope to make a difference in all parts of such a large region, whichencompasses billions of people across two oceans. Non-fiction for kids: big books for little people are great news for publishers, The west looks like a political risk to Asian allies, Dream state: Widodo struggles to build his vision for Indonesia, Beneath Malaysias political battles are older struggles, Five books that explain the Hong Kong protests, Death toll rises as Indonesia cleans up after weekend tsunami, Indonesia tsunami kills 222 and injures hundreds eyewitness footage, Indonesia tsunami kills 222 and injures hundreds. It was an incredible turnaround for a simple boy from a simple family, in a country where politics has long been dominated by dynasties, tycoons and the military. The lack of a concerted and comprehensive global and regional response to the pandemicalso bodes ill for another intractable collective action problem facing Southeast Asia: climatechange. Sharing a snap of him sitting at a desk at BBC News, Ben was grinning at the camera while rifling through his notes, a glass of water prepared at his side. It raises the question: How do companies with large global footprints decide which side to pick? We are the Bent Ears! Many of the values I try to live by are deeply rooted in both that faith and culture. Please, and moving back to London after 14 years, The end of Fortress Australia?, a first birthday for Man of Contradictions, why writing is thinking, and the other love of my life, The UK's Indo-Pacific Tilt, mutual (mis)understanding between Australia and Indonesia, and what Franz Kafka tells us about Hong Kong's legal system, COVID-19 runs rampant in Indonesia, ASEAN's Rorschach test in Myanmar, the long struggle in Hong Kong and the women who changed war reporting, From a royal slipper thrown at Sir Francis Walsingham to Saddam Hussein's non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction, via Napoleon's love of OSINT and, The two faces of Indonesian democracy, Beijing's inevitable squeeze in Hong Kong, and the Washington method in Southeast Asia. The latest Lowy Poll shows the gaps in public understanding that bedevils the goal of closer bilateral relations. Since then, Ben has been eagerly posting selfies to his socials posing outside various BBC studios - a sharp contrast from a throwback snap he posted on his first day on the job. He has cancelled several foreign trips at late notice because of domestic political difficulties and, when he does go overseas, he can be a temperamental traveller. Crisis of government adds to the burden of history and the challenge of nation-building. Sep 17, 2021. Many Indonesian NGOs were already struggling financially before COVID-19 and thepandemic has exacerbated these strains, although these organisations are needed more than ever to support Indonesian society through a very difficult period. Boulos explained that while he is proud of the British side of his family, having the surname Bland made people fairly assume he is as British as they come, and he felt like half of his identity was being masked. A vibrant region of more than 650 million people, Southeast Asia presents manyopportunities for the UK. Ben Bland on Twitter: "A personal update: after three great years at @LowyInstitute, I'm leaving next month to take up a new role as director of the Asia-Pacific programme at @ChathamHouse in London. If the UK wants to be a global leaderin tackling climate change, it should do much more with the region, from expandingdevelopment cooperation, to collaborating with the private sector and building a globalconsensus on issues such as carbon taxes and the rules around carbon offsets. In the 1920s, his paternal grandmother (my great-grandmother) decided and convinced my great-grandfather that with violent anti-Semitism on the rise across Europe, it would be wise for them to change the family name of Blumenthal with its overtly Jewish-Germanic links. The FCDO should consider supporting universities, think-tanks and other groups that canhelp generate interest in, understanding of and contact with Southeast Asia. Why spend valuable diplomatic capital on a problem that did not affect Indonesia directly? The two also discussed climate cooperation with China, the road to COP28, and much else. But Southeast Asiangovernments are determined to try to capitalise on US-China competition by securing moreeconomic concessions from both sides. Ben's creative industry experience includes working with dozens of local startups, agencies and industry Something went wrong, please try again later. But the charismatic Indonesian leader has no time for great-power politics, writes Ben Bland in a new book. But as I reached the end, I was yearning for more of his views on what could happen next in the Indonesia story. FPs Ravi Agrawal sat down with industry leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss how businesses can build resilience amid a turbulent geopolitical era. The pandemic has exerted a heavy toll on theregions economies and health systems, taking several hundred thousand lives. The UK should also work more closely with Indonesia on issues of global economicgovernance. Just days after the new President gave the maritime fulcrum speech, he divulged his real feelings about foreign policy on the flight back to Jakarta. There is little evidence Jokowi sees trade deals as a way to drive liberalising domestic economic reforms at home. We are entirely unrelated but it is a recipe for confusion. He has no strong sense of where he wants Indonesia to go. But it was, like so many political speeches, heavy on buzzwords, thin on policy and designed to be all things to all people. Jokowi did mention the need for "maritime diplomacy" and international co-operation to reduce the risk of conflict in the South China Sea and beyond. And what happens if the United States and China continue down a path of decoupling? The adviser had stumbled upon an important lesson: if you want to understand Jokowi the politician, you must understand Jokowi the furniture maker. A more careful examination of his views and habits would have left them disabused of that notion. One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture. 3. The rotatingannual chair takes on much of the work of organising and setting the agenda for ministerialmeetings. Delivered Thursday. Lastly, the FCDO needs to do more to help build a broader community of experts engaged inSoutheast Asia. Securing Dialogue Partner statuswith the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) provides a great platform on whichto build these linkages. The new web platform aims to help people find ways to improve the way they work, collaborate and build successful lives for themselves. The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world. Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with. In just nine years, he went from small-town businessman to president of the worlds fourth most populous nation. WebWe would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. 44. 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. The UK has a broadlypositive reputation in Indonesia, which is a good starting point. 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