VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): The Indonesian government has predicted that the peak of the 2023 Eid al-Fitr exodus return flow will occur on April 24-25 and April 29-May 1, 2023.

"From the analysis we received, the peak will start on Monday, April 24; Tuesday, April 25; then, Saturday, April 29; Sunday, April 30, and Monday, May 1," Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said after joining a coordination meeting on Eid exodus return flow period here on Sunday.

To this end, he said, his ministry suggests Eid exodus travelers avoid traveling during the peak period to avoid potential traffic congestion.

"We recommend people not travel on those dates," he said.

He added that his ministry had coordinated with several parties to intensify the dissemination of information regarding the recommendation.

The dissemination of information is aimed at suggesting people pay attention to their return schedules to prevent traffic congestion during the peak of the Eid exodus return flow period.

On that occasion, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy stated that based on the prediction of state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga, 203 thousand vehicles would make return trips to Jakarta and its surrounding areas on April 24-25, 2023.

To this end, Effendy noted that massive dissemination of information needs to be carried out so that Eid exodus travelers, especially those not in a hurry to return and have no urgent affairs, postpone their return schedules to around April 26-30, 2023.

"Of course, there is no prohibition for those who cannot delay their return trips to Jakarta and its surrounding areas," he said.

For this year's Eid al-Fitr, the government has projected that the number of Eid exodus travelers will reach 123 million. The figure reflects an increase compared to the number of exodus travelers in 2022, which stood at 85 million. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said that he is confident that Indonesian people will not be divided in the 2024 Elections as their strong ties with each other would not be shaken merely by political differences.

"The upcoming election will not divide us because of our strong national bond. Hence, we will not be divided merely because of political differences," Amin said, according to a Vice Presidential Secretariat statement received here on Sunday.

In an interview with private media Kompas TV on Saturday (April 22) evening, he said that Eid al-Fitr is a medium to enhance ties among kin and relatives as they are celebrating the occasion together.

While encouraging people to improve relations and reconcile with each other during Eid, the vice president also highlighted the need to maintain good relations, particularly ahead of the general election next year.

Meanwhile, Amin said that as elections have been part of the Indonesians' lives as a nation for decades, he believes people can respond to political differences in the appropriate manner.

"Elections are a recurring occasion in our country, and we are accustomed to it. Being big-hearted is something that we need in elections because it is a mechanism that we have agreed on in our state administration," the vice president stressed.

He also stressed that political differences must not cause enmity among each other, while adding that such differences are reasonable and should be responded wisely.

"Political differences in our democracy is inevitable ... it is even necessary. However, such differences must not cause enmity (among each other). It must be responded to in harmonious and peaceful manner," Amin remarked. (Antaranews)

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his foreign secretary met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Saturday with Manila and Beijing pledging to work together to resolve their maritime differences in the South China Sea.

Talks between the countries' key officials in Manila mark the latest in a series of high-level meetings of the Philippines with leaders of the United States and China as the two superpowers battle for strategic advantage in the Indo-Pacific.

"As to the conflicts, we agreed to establish more lines of communications so that any event that occurs in the West Philippine Sea that involves China and the Philippines can immediately be resolved," Marcos said in a statement. Manila refers to the part of the South China Sea that it claims as the West Philippine Sea.

Marcos said Qin's visit was helpful in talking things through and continuing work on growing the relationship between the two neighbours.

Qin and his counterpart, Philippines' Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, discussed views on strategic and regional issues during bilateral talks that started earlier on Saturday.

At the start of the talks, Qin said the two countries needed to work together to continue a tradition of friendship, deepen cooperation and properly resolve differences. Working together would help promote peace and stability of the region and the world, he added.

Manalo reaffirmed the Philippines' adherence to the One China Policy, while at the same time expressing concern over the escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

China's ambassador to the Philippines last week caused a stir when he accused the Southeast Asian nation of "stoking the fire" of regional tensions by offering expanded military base access to the United States, which he accused of interfering.

The Philippines this month announced the location of four additional U.S. military bases, three of which are facing north towards Taiwan, which China claims as its own.

Manila's foreign minister said relations with Beijing are more than just their differences over the South China Sea, which sees the passage of about $3 trillion worth of ship-borne goods annually and is believed to be rich in minerals and oil-and-gas deposits.

"These differences should not prevent us from seeking ways of managing them effectively, especially with respect to enjoyment of rights of Filipinos, especially fishermen," Manalo said, adding that their livelihoods are undermined by incidents and actions in the waterway.

China claims 90% of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory, but is opposed by Southeast Asian states and Taiwan.

Since Marcos took office in June, the Philippines has filed dozens of diplomatic protests at the presence of Chinese fishing vessels and what it calls China's "aggressive actions" in the strategic waterway.

Marcos is set to meet U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington in May, days after more than 17,000 Philippine and U.S. soldiers complete their largest ever joint military drills in the Southeast Asian country, drawing criticism from Beijing. (Reuters)

China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong has lodged solemn representations with the South Korean ambassador over "erroneous" remarks by the South Korean president about Taiwan, China's foreign ministry said on Sunday.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said increased tensions around Taiwan were due to attempts to change the status quo by force, and he opposed such a change.

"The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue," Yoon said.

Yoon's remarks are "totally unacceptable," Sun said, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

"The South Korean leader made no mention of the One China principle, but equated the Taiwan issue with the Korean Peninsula issue," Sun said.

"Both North and South Korea are sovereign states that have joined the United Nations. It is a well-known fact that the Korean Peninsula issue and the Taiwan issue are completely different in nature and in latitude and longitude, and are not comparable at all."

China says democratically ruled Taiwan is part of its own territory, a position Taipei strongly rejects, and demands that countries with which it has ties must adopt its position that Taiwan is Chinese territory.

Sun's complaint followed criticism from the Chinese foreign ministry last week that South Korea should "prudently" handle matters related to Taiwan. South Korea hit back by summoning China's ambassador to protest at Beijing's remarks. (Reuters)