Riang Karunianidi – On August 16, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo presented his State of the Nation address to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) making the commemoration of the pr

Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker – The democratic world of the G7 to China all view Indonesia in the prism of geopolitics.

Manggi Habir, Siwage Dharma Negara – President Joko Widodo doubtless hopes to leave behind a legacy that will remind Indonesians of his grand plans for a developed, vibrant, and economi

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – Doesn't it mean something special when even Aboe Bakar Al-Habsyi, secretary-general of the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and one of the fiercest cri

Samira Homerang Saunders – Since the colonial era, West Papuans have been engaged in a long struggle for their independence and freedom from outside rule, first as a Dutch colony, and t

The island that comprises Papua New Guinea and Indonesian ruled West Papua, is the largest island in the Pacific, with some of the widest cultural and linguistic diversity, biodiversity

Jakarta – We love it when artists get political, when they believe that the arts such as books, songs and paintings are not just supposed to entertain but also to change the world.

Guteriano Neves – A successful 21 May election in Timor-Leste saw the smooth and peaceful transition of power to a new government led by Xanana Gusmao – new, in the sense of being newly

David Livingstone – The charismatic leader of the world's third-largest democracy, fourth-largest country by population, and likely fourth-largest economy by 2050, has just visited Aust

Damien Kingsbury – Timor-Leste's resistance-era leader, Xanana Gusmao, is set to resume his county's presidency.

Robbie Sutton – West Papua has been in an ongoing violent separatist struggle for more than 50 years.

Duncan Graham – There are parallels between Indonesia's Aceh where an Ozzie surfer faced a flogging, and Papua where a Kiwi pilot is facing death.

Catherine Delahunty – Nearly four months ago, Phillip Mehrtens, a New Zealander working for an Indonesian airline, was kidnapped by West Papuan fighters in the highlands of West Papua.

Xiang Gao and Guy C. Charlton – The drawn-out hostage drama in West Papua over New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens has focused Western attention on this neglected area of the world.

Robertus Robet – The rot in Indonesian democracy has not been caused by the "excesses" of democracy, or poor understanding of democratic principles among the public, as politicians like

Philip Cass – Words matter when telling the story of West Papua's continuing struggle for independence.

Tania Li – "Please tell me how I can make companies obey the law," the official said.

Duncan Graham – It's easy being morally upright when the brutalities and agonies are far away.

Yamin Kogoya – The West Papua National Liberation Army, armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), known by the acronym TPNPB, released a video on February 15, showing hostage, Captai

Hipolitus Wangge – It has been over a month since an armed group abducted Phillip Merthens, a New Zealand-born pilot, on February 7, 2023, in Indonesia's Nduga, West Papua.

Rui Graca Feijo – In the past few years, everyday life in Timor-Leste has been disrupted by the multiple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – My mind has flashbacks of former foreign minister Ali Alatas telling me about the real power of the Foreign Ministry many years ago when I read the speech of

Yamin Kogoya – "We are part of them and they are part of us," declared politician Augustine Rapa, founder and president of the PNG Liberal Democratic Party, on the 61st anniversary of t

Yamin Kogoya – On 30 June 2022, the Indonesian Parliament in Jakarta passed legislation to split West Papua into three more pieces.

Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker – Oppression in West Papua by Indonesia is ongoing. It is happening decade after decade.

An open letter by Reverend Dr Benny Giay

The notion that Papua is the "Land of Peace" has no substance.

Endy Bayuni, Jakarta – In the run-up to Saturday's announcement that the price of major subsidized fuel brands would increase, the government made a compelling argument that the huge su

The growth of China's influence in our region is a significant issue, but there is a danger in making it the sole focus for relations with our neighbours.

Parker Novak – It's been hard to miss Jose Ramos-Horta, the President of Timor-Leste, in the news over the past couple of weeks.

Jakarta – This year, as the country prepared itself to celebrate the 77th year anniversary of Indonesia's independence, the government of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo made a major for

Jakarta – Many Indonesians will feel a sense of deja vu upon watching the current events in Sri Lanka, where economic and political crises are hitting hard and leading the country of 22

Greg Fealy, Sally White and Burhanuddin Muhtadi – In March 2022, Muhammad Qodari, the high profile executive director of Indo Barometer survey institute grabbed headlines by proposing t

Tamara Soukotta – Former President Megawati Soekarnoputri, the long-serving chair of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has been widely criticised for comments she mad

Aprila Wayar and Johnny Blades – In April of this year, Indonesia's parliament approved a plan to create three new provinces in Papua, the easternmost region of the archipelago.

Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker – The indigenous of West Papua suffer from international capitalist exploitation, Indonesian exploitation, and the demographic and religio

Andrea Fahey – China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week concluded a Pacific tour – featuring some diplomatic gains and losses – with a 24-hour visit to Timor-Leste.

Yamin Kogoya – A flurry of peaceful rallies and protests erupted in West Papua and Indonesia on Friday, June 3.

Allegra Mendelson, Dili, East Timor – Jose Ramos-Horta, who came out of political retirement to run for president of Southeast Asia's youngest nation a second time, has a raft of challe

Kornelius Purba – Indonesian policymakers, from the highest to the lowest rung ladder, need to read and discuss with open minds an article that appeared in The Conversation titled "Desp

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – My conversations several years ago with three former foreign ministers on East Timor (now Timor Leste) suddenly came to mind when I read an article in this pa

John McBeth, Jakarta – Coming in the middle of a heated exchange between the Indonesian government and United Nations rapporteurs over alleged military human rights abuses, the March 3

Andrea Fahey – In the midst of an international crisis, it is remarkable when small countries still find the courage to adhere to their democratic principles.

Nathan Wall – When the issue of modern-day military occupations is brought up, most people immediately think of Israel and Palestine.

Yamin Kogoya, Brisbane – Google images of a country or region can offer a wealth of information about the people and cultures that live there.

Sam Roggeveen – The fuss made over Friday's Quad meeting in Melbourne is quite out of proportion to the group's significance.

Michael Rose, ANU – In May 2022, Timor-Leste will mark 20 years of renewed independence.

By Max Lane

Executive Summary

Kyle Springer – Indonesia suffers from some of the highest food prices in Southeast Asia.

Editorial Board, ANU – Ahead of the Rome G20 Summit in October 2021, the G20 looked like it was in danger of losing the plot.

Haryo Aswicahyono and Hal HillContributor – It takes a serious crisis to reveal a country's fundamental strengths and vulnerabilities.