A meeting of the Timor-Leste (East Timor) cabinet Ministers authorized the Ministry of Finance to start the process of joining the Asian Investment and Infrastructure Bank (AIIB), according to a pr

Jewel Topsfield – Indonesian President Joko Widodo has flagged he will visit Australia in November in a powerful indication of the warmth between the leaders of the two countries.

Jakarta – The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would be an uneven playing field for Indonesian businesses, given the country's low ratings in various fields compared to 12 members of the trade bloc

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – Indonesians think highly of Australia – but it would seem the feeling isn't mutual.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Having been accused of frequent abuses of human rights in Papua, the Indonesian government took a couple of senior Australian officials on a tour of the easternmost r

Lauren Farrow – Australia's Attorney-General must raise current and past abuses, including the alleged Biak massacre of 1998, when he travels to Papua with the controversial Indonesian minister Wir

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – The Australian Government has closed the book on war crimes in East Timor allegedly committed by Indonesia's new chief security minister, stressing it needs to pursue wha

Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – Activists of various NGOs have urged ASEAN governments to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – Trade Minister Steven Ciobo must have exhaled at a press conference on Tuesday morning when he heard his Indonesian counterpart utter the golden words: "There is no chang

Australia's top national security ministers will hold talks next week with a former military general accused of human rights abuses in East Timor, who has recently been returned to the Indonesian c

Quratul-Ain Bandial, Bandar Seri Begawan – Timor Leste is keen to reap the potential benefits of tariff-free trade once it joins the ASEAN bloc, said the country's commerce, industry and environmen

Djemi Amnifu, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration has been called on to immediately annul a treaty between the Australian government and the Indonesian gove

Djemi Amnifu, Kupang – Many Timor Leste citizens remain stranded in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), years after a UN referendum that resulted in Timor Leste's independence.

Eruera Rerekura – A Melanesian academic is criticising Prime Minister John Key for focusing on economic trade ahead of human rights abuses against West Papuans while he is in Indonesia.

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Economic cooperation was the main focus of a bilateral meeting between Indonesia and New Zealand while both countries also discussed human rights with New Zealand saying it r

The New Zealand Prime Minister has discussed human rights in West Papua and New Zealand's opposition to the death penalty during formal talks with the Indonesian leadership.

Ruby Taylor – The Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) has welcomed Timor Leste as part of the growing country members of the forum.

New Zealand's government has confirmed its ambassador to Indonesia, Dr Trevor Matheson, visited Jayapura and Merauke in Papua last week.

Venidora Oliveira – There are currently 3000 motorbikes and cars operating illegally across the country, according to Acting Minister Longuinhos Monteiro, who blamed weak import controls.

New Zealand politicians want the government to press for progress on a high level fact-finding mission to Indonesia's Papua region.

Liza Yosephine, Jakarta – The government is stepping up its efforts to spare the lives of 208 Indonesians abroad who are facing the death penalty, an official said on Thursday.

The office of the United Nations Secretary-General denies that he met with a representative of West Papua at the World Humanitarian Summit.

Paulina Quintao – The National of Parliament has approved consumer protection law that allow for complaints against shop owners if the goods bought were of poor quality.

Dewanti A.

Jewel Topsfield – Indonesia's former foreign minister has emphatically denied a link between the live cattle export ban and an increased flow of asylum seekers, saying it is "shocking" to suggest t

Tama Salim, Dili – Just 14 years into independence, Timor Leste has secured membership of a number of international forums, declaring its intent to catch up with the rest of the developing world.

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – The Democratic Republic of Timor Leste will become a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2017, the Indonesian Ambassador to ASEAN, Rahmat P

Tama Salim and Anggi M.

An Indonesian government delegation has travelled to Britain to talk about West Papua to local MPs and church leaders.

Cristian Talesco – Five years since submitting its formal membership application to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the small Pacific country of East Timor is more determined th

Jakarta – Indonesia's House of Representatives has condemned a meeting by the International Parliamentarians for West Papua, or IPWP, that took place at the British Houses of Parliament in London e

Yohanes Seo, Kupang – Indonesia and Timor Leste signed a memorandum of understanding covering cooperation on preventing HIV infection in both countries.

The Hague, Netherlands – Indonesian President Joko Widodo paid an official visit to the Netherlands on Friday aimed at drumming up trade and investment from the country that long was Indonesia's co

Anton Hermansyah – President Joko Widodo's visit to Europe shows the government's concern over declining European Union (EU) trade with Indonesia.

Padang, West Sumatra – United States Ambassador to Indonesia Robert O. Blake affirmed that relations between his country and Jakarta were getting better.

Ha Noi – Viet Nam and Timor Leste will intensify their cooperation across politics, economy, investment, trade, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, and communications.

New Delhi (IANS) – India looks forward to the southeast Asian nation of Timor Leste joining the Asean bloc, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Monday.

Jewel Topsfield, Bali – Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has issued a blunt warning that the failure of the key regional forum on people smuggling to address the refugee crisis in South-ea

Liza Yosephine, Jakarta – Indonesia and Australia have taken steps to enhance their relationship ahead of the Bali Process meeting.

In Jakarta, the Foreign Minister will meet with her Indonesian counterpart, Foreign Minister Retno Maraud, and other senior ministers.

Jewel Topsfield – Indonesia has stressed Australia is not a threat and it is grateful for Australia's communication over its massive military modernisation program over the next 20 years.

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – Indonesia's exports to Japan and China, the country's traditional main markets, recorded positive growth in February from the month before, but accumulatively still record

Ayomi Amindoni, Business – The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) has predicted a trade surplus recorded in the first two months of 2016 to continue in March, although slightly decreased as a result o

Tom Allard – The Australian Secret Intelligence Service provided the security advice that denied one of its former spies a passport to travel to a tribunal hearing at The Hague on the grounds he co

Ross Peake – The lawyer at the heart of the East Timor bugging case has accused the former Labor government of planting listening devices in his Canberra office.

Tassia Sipahutar, Jakarta – Indonesia is eyeing to take over the role of its neighboring countries as Southeast Asia's main logistics hub as the country launched on Thursday its first-ever bonded l

Khoirul Amin, Jakarta – "If there's one thing that we need to watch out when we join the Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP], that's the yarn-forward clause," said Benny Soetrisno.

Ayomi Amindoni – The House of Representatives has been urged to openly supervise the government's assessment of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) to avoid misinformation on the cost and benefit o

Ayomi Amindoni, Business – Indonesia recorded a surplus of US$50.6 million in the January trade balance, a 92 percent drop from the trade surplus in January 2015, which stood at $632 million.

Anton Hermansyah, Business – Indonesia could fall into bankruptcy if the biggest market in Southeast Asia join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would allow investors to sue the government