VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa asked the winners of the 2022 East Java Tourism Award (EJTA) to continue promoting the tourism sector in the region.

Parawansa said in a written statement  on Sunday that the event was expected to further promote tourism potential in each region in East Java Province.

"So promoting local potential is a very important part," she noted.

She pointed out that there were challenges in promoting local tourism potential, one of which was the need for adequate infrastructure to access naturally scenic, beautiful areas.

Therefore, she urged the village administration, regional government, and the East Java Government, to be able to improve access to these areas in order to meet those ends.

"The problem lies in infrastructure to access  areas that have extraordinary beauty. Together with the governments of the village, sub-district, district to the province to build shared accessibility," he said.

At the 2022 East Java Tourism Award event, there were also 11 award categories given, including the Natural, Cultural, and Artificial Tourism Attraction Award; Tourism Village Profile Video Contest; and the East Java Tourism Short Film Competition.

She believed that the video was able to promote the potential of the tourism sector in each region in the East Java region, as it would spark people's interest.

"Digital-wise, there are also short video competitions, and broadcasts of several village and regional tours. Of course this is very good for promotion of each other's regions," she reasoned.

On that occasion, he also saw the potential for young puppeteers to become heirs to wayang culture in Indonesia. It is expected that the young puppeteer's regeneration would also be able to boost the tourism potential in East Java.

It is noted that the participants of Dalang Muda award in 2022 comes from urban areas such as Surabaya, Malang and Gresik. Thus, dalang is no longer exclusive to Nganjuk, Blitar, Tulungagung and Ngawi regions, but is more evenly distributed in East Java.

"There is potential for regeneration for puppeteers from East Java which is more evenly distributed with those who are educated. They finish their studies, then improve in terms of cultural aspects, in my opinion this is great," she concluded. (Antaranews)

Japan needs to increase its military spending in the face of the "grim reality" of the threat from China and North Korea, a senior member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said on Sunday during a visit to Taiwan.

Although Chinese-claimed and democratically-governed Taiwan and Japan do not have formal diplomatic ties, they have close unofficial relations and both share concerns about China, especially its increased military activities near the two.

Koichi Hagiuda, the LDP's policy chief and a former industry minister, said during a visit to Taipei that since World War Two Japan has "walked the path of peace" and that path will not change in the future.

"However just reciting the word peace is of course not enough for our peace to be protected," he told a forum on Japan-Taiwan relations.

As Japan prepares next year's budget Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has already announced plans to lift defence spending to an amount equivalent to 2% of gross domestic product within five years, from 1% now.

That would take Japan's annual defence budget to more than 11 trillion yen ($80.55 billion) from 5.4 trillion yen currently, giving the country the world's third-largest military budget after the United States and China at their current levels.

Hagiuda pointed to China's massive increase in military spending, as well as North Korean missile tests, as reasons for Japan to raise its defence budget.

"In the face of such a grim reality, half measures have no meaning at all."

Japan's defence capabilities are necessary to protect lives and peace and must be developed immediately, not within five years, he added.

"It's important to show clearly that we have sufficient capacity to make any would-be aggressor think twice."

China staged military drills near Taiwan in August to express anger at a visit to Taipei by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including launching five missiles into the sea close to Okinawa, within Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Japan hosts major U.S. military bases, including on Okinawa, a short flight from Taiwan, which would be crucial for any U.S. support during a Chinese attack.

The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, though there is ambiguity about whether it would send forces to help Taiwan in a war with China.

Addressing a think-tank in Taiwan last December, the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan and the United States could not stand by if China attacked Taiwan, and Beijing needs to understand this. (Reuters)

Australia's foreign minister will be part of a bipartisan group of Australian politicians set to travel to Vanuatu, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau this week in a bid to bolster regional ties.

The group comprises Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, senior government minister Pat Conroy, and their opposition counterparts, the politicians said in a joint statement on Sunday.

Australia has been working to shore up its standing in the Pacific amid growing influence from China, which entered a security pact with the Solomon Islands in April.

U.S. ally Australia has for decades seen the region as largely its sphere of influence. This year, both China and Australia launched senior-level visits to the Pacific.

The politicians said they would meet Vanuatu Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau, Federated States of Micronesia President David Panuelo and Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr.

Discussions would cover development objectives, the "existential threat" of climate change, and key regional security issues, the politicians said in their statement.

The group, while in Vanuatu, would attend a ceremony for the handover of a new wharf and police boat "as part of Australia’s enduring cooperation on shared regional security interests".

"I am pleased we are ... demonstrating Australia’s enduring commitment to strengthening our Pacific partnerships and addressing regional challenges,” Wong said.

It is the first government-led bipartisan visit to Pacific island countries since 2019, they said. (Reuters)

Australia's foreign minister said on Saturday the government would place targeted sanctions on Russia and Iran in response to what it called "egregious" human rights violations.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement Australia was imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions on 13 individuals and two entities, including Iran’s Morality Police and Basij Resistance Force, and six Iranians involved in the crackdown on protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody in September.

In an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, Wong said the sanctions applied to Sadegh Hosseini, whom she described as a senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was being listed for his alleged role in "indiscriminate use of violence against protesters".

"The Iranian regime’s flagrant and widespread disregard for the human rights of its own people has appalled Australians, and the perpetrators must be held accountable," Wong wrote in the newspaper.

The Iranian foreign ministry rejected the move as interference in the Islamic Republic's internal affairs and "incitement to violence", state media reported.

"Australia's new anti-Iran action comes after this country's government has systematically violated the basic rights of Australian aborigines, prisoners and asylum seekers for years and has sheltered elements of anti-Iranian terrorist and separatist groups," ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.

Seven Russians involved in what Australia's Wong said was the attempted assassination of former opposition leader Alexei Navalny would also have human rights sanctions imposed on them, according to the statement.

In addition to human rights sanctions, Wong said Australia was placing further targeted financial sanctions on three Iranians and one Iranian business for supplying drones to Russia for use against Ukraine.

The announcement comes after Australia's centre-left Labour government in October imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on 28 Russian-appointed separatists, ministers and senior officials after President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the annexation of four regions of Ukraine.

Since the start of the conflict, Australia has sanctioned hundreds of Russian individuals and entities, including most of Russia's banking sector and all organisations responsible for the country's sovereign debt.

It also has supplied defence equipment and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, while outlawing exports of alumina and aluminium ores, including bauxite, to Russia.

Australia's previous Liberal-National coalition government first imposed Magnitsky-style sanctions - measures that impose financial penalties and travel bans against individuals - in March against 14 Russians. (Reuters)