VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Nine Chinese aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line on Friday carrying out combat readiness patrols, Taiwan's defence ministry said, days after Beijing threatened retaliation if President Tsai Ing-wen meets U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory despite the strong objections of the island's government, has been angered by what it sees as stepped up U.S. support for Taiwan.

Tsai arrived in the United States on Wednesday, stopping off on her way to Central America.

She is expected to meet McCarthy in Los Angeles on her way back to Taipei in April, and China on Wednesday threatened unspecified retaliation if that meeting were to go ahead.

Taiwan's defence ministry said the nine Chinese aircraft crossed at points in the north, centre and south of the strait's median line, which used to serve as an unofficial buffer between the two sides.

Taiwan's armed forces responded using its own aircraft and ships to monitor the situation using the principle of "not escalating conflicts or causing disputes", the ministry said.

"The communist military's deployment of forces deliberately created tension in the Taiwan Strait, not only undermining peace and stability, but also has a negative impact on regional security and economic development," it said in a statement.

The ministry condemned what it called "such irrational actions".

There was no immediate response from China.

Tsai, on her first U.S. stopover since 2019, told an event held by the Hudson Institute think tank in New York on Thursday that the blame for rising tensions lay with China, according to excerpts of her comments reported by her office.

"China deliberately raises tensions, but Taiwan always responds cautiously and calmly, so that the world can see that Taiwan is the responsible party in cross-Strait relations," she said.

'ALL PREPARATIONS'

A senior Taiwan official familiar with security planning told Reuters the Chinese aircraft had only "slightly" encroached across the median line, and that no unusual movements by Chinese ships had been stopped.

China staged war games around Taiwan last August following the visit to Taipei of then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and has continued its military activities near Taiwan since though on a reduced scale.

The Taiwan official said China was unlikely to repeat such large exercises as it was in the middle of a "charm offensive" towards foreign political and business leaders, and an escalation of military tension would send "conflicting messages" to the world.

"Having said that, we have made all preparations in case China reacts irrationally," the source said. "The more the international community pays attention to Taiwan, the more upset they get."

Speaking to reporters in Taipei earlier on Friday, Premier Chen Chien-jen said Taiwan was a "democratic country" with the right to go out into the world.

"I hope that China will not find pretext to provoke," he said, when asked about Beijing's retaliation threat.

"China's authoritarian expansion will in fact cause unnecessary trouble, so we here again make this call, hoping that China can reduce its provocative actions."

China has never officially recognised the median line, which a U.S. general devised in 1954 at the height of Cold War hostility, although the People's Liberation Army had until very recently largely respected it. (Reuters)

Jakarta (voinews): President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is awaiting a report from the National Football Association (PSSI) on FIFA's potential sanctions against Indonesia following the removal of the country's status as the U-20 World Cup host.

"Yes, (the sanctions will be known) later after I meet Mr Thohir (Erick Thohir, head of PSSI), to find out what it is," the head of state stated in Bogor, West Java, on Friday.

Jokowi was officiating the Lido Special Economic Zone on the occasion.

He had sent the head of the National Football Association Erick Thohir to personally deliver a letter regarding the U-20 World Cup to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

However, FIFA stripped Indonesia of its rights to host the competition just after the meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday (March 29), citing "current situation" as the reason without further elaboration.

Through its official announcement, FIFA stated that it is considering sanctions against Indonesia which will be announced later.

Jokowi spoke of already having given a directive to Thohir to report on his meeting with the FIFA president and also discuss possible sanctions that Indonesia might receive.

“He said that once he arrives (in Indonesia), he would immediately report to me," the president remarked.

Indonesia's right to host the U-20 World Cup was revoked following heated debates about the Israeli national team's participation in the competition.

The refusal of Bali Governor I Wayan Koster and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo to allow their regions to be used as venues for the team to compete also influenced the decision.

The revocation of the host status is a result of Indonesia violating its agreement as a host, which could lead to potential sanctions against the country.

One possible sanction is that the national U-20 team cannot compete in the event, as they are only allowed to participate in the final phase as a host after failing to qualify for the Asian Cup U-20 2023.

Deputy Head of PSSI, Zainudin Amali, stated on Thursday (March 30) that this situation is different, as FIFA could impose more severe sanctions than in 2015.

Possible sanctions could include the inability to host FIFA-authorized matches and the national team's disqualification from playing in the final round of the 2023 Asian Cup, Amali remarked. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Finance Ministry's Fiscal Policy Agency Head, concurrently the ASEAN Finance Deputy to Indonesia, Febrio Kacaribu expects the ASEAN region to continue to grow above four percent this year and remain attractive for investment.

"For that to be achieved, strengthening efforts on cooperation, collaboration, and interstate coordination among ASEAN countries should be carried out," Kacaribu remarked during the ASEAN Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting (AFCDM), as quoted from an official statement obtained here, Friday.

The ministry, along with Bank Indonesia (BI), organized AFCDM on Thursday (Mar 30) in Bali as a part of the first ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (1st AFMGM) series of meetings.

According to Kacaribu, Indonesian Chairmanship of ASEAN this year is an important momentum for Indonesia to demonstrate its key role in the region, especially in making ASEAN the global epicentrum of growth.

Indonesia is confident that its chairmanship theme of "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth" is a good representation of the region's resilience amid global uncertainties, such as inflation, disruption on supply chain, geopolitical crisis, and the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the same occasion, Deputy Governor of BI Dody Waluyo highlighted the ASEAN's need to intensify policy coordination in supporting economic recovery, encouraging development, and improving financial stability.

"ASEAN needs to bolster its synergy and collectively implement policies with regard to economic recovery and development, digital economy, and sustainable finance," Waluyo affirmed.

In addition, he emphasized the importance of conducting comprehensive assessments in order to strengthen cooperation among ASEAN countries in tackling potential future challenges.

Earlier, on Mar 28-30, three other meetings were successfully held: ASEAN Finance Deputies Meeting (AFDM), ASEAN Central Bank Deputies Meeting (ACDM), and ASEAN Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting + 3 (AFCDM+3).

The AFCDM was held with three main agendas: the agreement on the adoption of discussion agenda and series of activity arrangements, the talk on ASEAN chairmanship priority in the financial channel, the report on ASEAN's financial integration and road map for financial and monetary integration including other related agendas, and also the preparation of the first meeting of Finance Ministries and ASEAN Central Bank Governors as the main event of the series.

As for financial matters, the AFCDM discussed three priorities: Local Currency Transaction (LCT) and cross-border payment, cooperation in the fields of finance and health, and also food resilience.

The aforementioned three priorities, along with other agendas will be discussed within three strategic thrusts, i.e., recovery-rebuilding, digitalization, and sustainability.

Results of the meetings will be presented as inputs to the 1st AFMGM main event that will take place on Mar 31.

The agendas being discussed are expected to provide a concrete step from which the ASEAN countries can benefit. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Indonesia's Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partner on early warning systems for disaster risk reduction.

This week, BMKG and USAID signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together to strengthen, develop, and promote scientific and technical cooperation activities on disaster early warning systems, according to a written statement issued by the US Embassy in Jakarta on Friday.

"BMKG Indonesia is very pleased to strengthen our cooperation with the United States through the USAID, so that we can learn from one another, primarily related to weather, climate, earthquake, and tsunami phenomena that significantly affect the safety and prosperity of the community of the two countries," Head of BMKG Dwikorita Karnawati stated.

Karnawati highlighted BMKG's hopes that the collaboration will generate and drive new knowledge and innovations deemed increasingly necessary in the provision of information and improvement of early warning systems amid the increasing challenges of disaster events.

Under the new agreement, the BMKG and USAID will partner to enhance impact-based forecasting, bolster the flash flood guidance system for the Asia and Pacific region, and improve earthquake notifications and tsunami warnings.

"We are pleased to deepen our partnership with the Government of Indonesia to address the challenges of climate change. Along with BMKG’s leadership, we are improving public early warning systems to provide information on weather, climate, earthquakes, and tsunamis that is timely, accurate, comprehensive, and easy to understand," USAID Indonesia Mission Director Jeff Cohen stated.

Cohen further remarked that USAID and BMKG will also conduct joint analysis, share information and best practices, and exchange visits.

The US Embassy noted in its statement that the two partners further plan to intensify their partnership through new grant agreements. (Antaranews)