VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): The trade sector has been proven to be capable of making a significant contribution to the growth of the economy, Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga has said.

The contribution of exports of goods and services to Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) continued to increase to reach 24.49 percent in 2022. Indonesia's economic growth stood at 5.3 percent in 2022, or 3.2 percentage points higher than the world's average economic growth.

"The trade sector has been proven to be able to contribute significantly to economic growth. Indonesia's inflation in 2022 remained at 5.51 percent, or relatively balanced when compared to several G20 and ASEAN countries," Sambuaga said in a written statement issued here on Friday.

According to him, Indonesia's trade balance experienced a surplus of US$54.53 billion, the highest on record in its history.

The surplus was due to exports, which reached a value of US$291.98 billion, and imports worth US$237.45 billion. Meanwhile, in February 2023, Indonesia's trade balance also recorded a surplus of US$5.48 billion.

In terms of trading partners, the three largest trading partner countries that contribute to the surplus in the non-oil and gas trade balance in 2022 were the United States (US$18.89 billion), India (US$16.16 billion), and the Philippines (US$11.41 billion).

Meanwhile, based on the commodities of non-oil and gas exports, those that added to the surplus were animal/vegetable fats (US$34.83 billion), mineral fuels (US$26.10 billion), and iron and steel (US$13.89 billion).

The Ministry of Trade has been committed to pushing the performance of Indonesia's trade sector, including by forging international trade agreements. Currently, Indonesia has entered into 34 international trade agreements.

Through the agreements, business players in Indonesia can access a "toll road" facility to export their products to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, and other trading partner countries.

Other strategies taken to boost the performance of the trade sector have included the diversification of export destinations and the conduct of trade missions to non-traditional markets, such as African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian countries.

"We are executing this strategy because the trade mission has been proven to give concrete results. Recently, the trade mission to Saudi Arabia resulted in eight trade transactions with a transaction value of US$155 million," the deputy minister remarked. (Antaranews)

China's Fujian maritime safety administration launched a three-day special joint patrol and inspection operation in the central and northern parts of the Taiwan Strait that includes moves to board ships, it said on its WeChat account.

The move comes amid heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosting Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California on Wednesday, becoming the most senior U.S. figure to meet a Taiwanese leader on U.S. soil in decades.

The maritime safety authority in the southeastern Chinese province said on Wednesday the operation included "on-site inspections" on direct cargo ships and construction vessels on both sides of the Taiwan Strait "to ensure the safety of vessel navigation and ensure the safe and orderly operation of key projects on water".

Taiwan's Transport Ministry's Maritime and Ports Bureau said in a statement late Wednesday said it has lodged a strong protest with China about the move.

It said it has notified relevant shipping operators that if they encounter such requests from China they should refuse them and immediately notify Taiwan's coast guard to render assistance.

"If the mainland side insists on taking one-sided actions, it will create obstacles to normal exchanges between the two sides. We will be forced to take corresponding measures," it added, without giving details.

Areas covered by the operation include the Pingtan Taiwan direct container route, the "small three links" passenger route, the Taiwan Strait vessel customary route, the densely navigable areas of commercial and fishing vessels, and areas with frequent illegal sand mining activities.

The "small three links" passenger route refers to boat routes between Taiwan's Kinmen and Matsu islands which sit opposite China and Chinese cities.

The fleet, a joint special operation with East China Sea Rescue Bureau and the East China Sea Navigation Support Center, will continue to carry out cruise inspections in the central and northern parts of the Taiwan Strait over the next two days. (Reuters)

The main spokesman for Afghanistan's Taliban administration will move his office from the capital to the southern city of Kandahar, the information ministry said, a sign of the growing importance of the region that is home to its supreme leader.

The province of Kandahar is the historical birthplace of the Taliban movement.

Supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada lives there and rarely makes public visits to Kabul, about 450 km (280 miles) to the north, where national government offices, the cabinet and the acting prime minister are based.

"Zabihullah Mujahid and Samangani are both transferred to Kandahar," said Abdul Maten Qanee, a spokesperson for the information ministry, referring to Innamullah Samangani, a deputy spokesman.

It is one of the first known instances of an official in a senior role in the Taliban administration shifting their office from the capital.

The information ministry did not elaborate on the reason for the move but it suggests more prominence for those officials based in Kandahar.

Major decisions, such as restricting the access of girls and women to highschool and university and stopping most female NGO staff from working, have come from Akhundzada in Kandahar and been implemented by ministries in Kabul, officials have said.

Mujahid has for years been one of the main public voices of the Taliban, including during their insurgency, which ended when they took over as U.S.-led foreign forces withdrew in 2021.

Though he regularly spoke to reporters by telephone and via text message, he first revealed himself at a news conference shortly after the Taliban took over. (Reuters)

The top foreign and defense officials of the United States and the Philippines will meet in Washington next week, the U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday, just as the two countries have expanded their defense cooperation agreement.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will receive Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and defense chief Carlito Galvez on Tuesday.

The announcement of the meeting of the two longtime allies came after the Philippines on Monday identified four more of its military bases that the United States will get access to under an expansion of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

The near doubling of EDCA sites was achieved at a time of growing concern over China's conduct in the South China Sea and tension over self-ruled Taiwan.

The EDCA, signed in 2014 under U.S. President Barack Obama, allows U.S. access to Philippine bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage and military housing.

The sites named on Monday are the Camilo Osias navy base in Sta Ana and Lal-lo airport, both in Cagayan province, and Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela province and the island of Balabac off Palawan.

The locations are significant, with Isabela and Cagayan facing north towards Taiwan, while Palawan is near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where China has built artificial islands equipped with runways and missile systems.

The decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to expand the U.S. access was made in February but the announcement of the sites was delayed by opposition from some local government leaders concerned about being caught up in a future conflict between the United States and China. (Reuters)