Archive September 2, 2025

After initially cancelling because of days of extensive protests against rising inequality, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has left for China, according to his presidential spokesperson, Prasetyo Hadi, in a statement.

Kim Jong Un, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and more than 25 leaders will attend the parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Wednesday to commemorate the anniversaries of Japan’s defeat in World War II.

According to his spokesman on Tuesday, Prabowo is scheduled to meet with Xi Jinping in China for lunch. On September 3, he will return home.

Rights groups claim that at least six people were killed and over 20 were missing in Indonesia as a result of widespread protests.

Following the fatal shooting of a motorcycle taxi driver who was hit by a police car during a demonstration in the capital, protests started in Jakarta last week.

A five-storey building has been set on fire near the police compound in the central Jakarta Kwitang neighborhood after protesters have attacked the police mobile brigade headquarters.

In the easternmost Papua region, Surabaya, Solo, Yogyakarta, Medan, Makassar, Manado, Bandung, and Manokwari have also been the sites of demonstrations in other cities across the nation.

Protesters also targeted other lawmakers’ homes as well as the finance minister’s home in Indonesia.

“A thorough and truthful investigation”

President Subianto promised on Friday to look into the death of Affan Kurniawan, a driver for a gig motorcycle, and he also expressed his “deepest condolences and sympathy” for the government.

He stated in a statement that “I have ordered that the incident last night be thoroughly and transparently investigated and that the officers involved be held accountable.

The country’s government cut financial incentives for lawmakers on Sunday to address the protestors’ economic concerns.

President Subianto stated, “The parliament leadership informed me that they would revoke several policies, including the cap on the amount of money that lawmakers can receive from abroad,” without mentioning which cap.

The president, however, attacked the protests over the country’s economic problems on Sunday, saying some of the actions at rallies in recent days constituted “terrorism” and treason.

“Respectful and protected should be the right to peaceful assembly. In a speech at the presidential palace in the capital’s Jakarta, he said, “We cannot deny that there are signs of actions against the law, even against the law, which lean toward treason and terrorism.”

After several politicians’ homes were razed as anti-government protests spread throughout Indonesia, defense minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin announced at a press conference on Sunday that the country would take strong measures against “rioters and looters.” In order to improve security, the country’s armed forces were also stationed in the capital.

Rights groups claim Prabowo’s olive branch from parliament did not go far enough, despite the recent decrease in the protest rallies and the military’s deployment on Monday as a show of force.

According to Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid, the president’s statement was insensitive to all the complaints and aspirations the people were voicing during the demonstrations.

During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China, Russia and China have come to terms with building a new gas pipeline, Gazprom reported, underscoring the strengthening of their economic and energy ties.

A “legally binding memorandum” had been signed to develop the pipeline, according to Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom, Russia’s largest energy company, on Tuesday.

An additional 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas could be transported by Mongolia’s Power of Siberia 2 each year from Russia’s Arctic Yamal fields to China.

Miller added that from now on, deliveries from eastern Siberia to China will increase to 44 bcm annually from 38 bcm.

The agreement would increase Beijing’s energy options while reducing its dependence on American-imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.

Unprecedented ties, in your opinion.

Following high-profile meetings between President Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Russian leader praised Beijing’s “unprecedented ties.”

For the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, Xi also hosted dozens of world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Chinese leader urged regional leaders to reject “Cold War mentality,” making explicit reference to the United States, by promoting the security bloc as an alternative to the Western-led international order.

Despite several rounds of discussions, Beijing and Washington have not yet reached a trade agreement.

US President Donald Trump stated in an interview with “Scott Jennings Radio Show” on Tuesday that he is “not concerned at all” about a growing US-to-Russia border.

Pricing for the new route is undetermined, though. Russia’s efforts to offset the decline of its European gas market, while China seeks discounts, are being met separately, according to Miller, who stated that negotiations on costs would be handled.

According to Michal Meidan, head of China Energy Research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, “Announcements about Power of Siberia 2 are a huge turning point in the geopolitics of energy.” The message is that China no longer cares about what the West thinks or even pretends to be complicit in US sanctions. Additionally, it is not by itself.

boosting economic ties

Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project has already sent liquefied natural gas to China, indicating that it is ready to defy Western pressure.

Moscow and Beijing’s trade increased to $ 240 billion in 2023, underlining their growing partnership since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

No details were provided, but officials from the Kremlin claimed that during Putin’s ongoing visit, 22 agreements, including one involving a strategic cooperation agreement between China National Petroleum Corporation and Gazprom, had been signed.