VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has appealed to the people, especially those living in Turen sub-district,  Malang district, East Java, to uphold peace and security.

To maintain harmony and security in society, there needs to be good collaboration between people, the national defense forces, the national police, village administrations, as well as the regional government, he said in Malang district on Thursday.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we must always get along and must work well with each other. Then, with the village leaders, national defense forces, national police, including the regional government," the minister added.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic is still visible, he said. However, the government has been able to handle it well, as seen by the decline in COVID-19 cases.

The war between Ukraine and Russia has also affected people in Indonesia, which has also compromised the community's economy.

"Right now, the economy is in trouble all over the world due to the impact of COVID-19 and Ukraine's war with Russia. They are producers of oil, gas, fertilizer, and corn. And because of the war, of course, their prices are going up," he noted.

He said that even though the pandemic situation has currently improved, people must remain cautious. The government is also continuing to work to improve the public economy.

"We must still be harmonious, compact, work together, and must always be united; we must not be divided," he said.

He also met with hundreds of residents in Turen sub-district, Malang district, on Thursday and took pictures with some of them.

He also provided basic food aid packages for at least 200 local residents and handed over 10 dirt bikes to the Turen Military District Command 0818/14. (Antaranews)

Archives related to COVID-19 pandemic handling in Indonesia will be a valuable asset for the nation in the future, according to National Archives of Indonesia (ANRI) Chairperson Imam Gunarto.

"(The decision to create archives) is intended to facilitate future generations in obtaining information, particularly about pandemic handling," Gunarto stated at a media gathering here, Thursday .

He explained that the establishment of archives related to COVID-19 handling was aimed at following up on Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucracy Reform Circular No 62 of 2020 that mandated such action.

The ANRI is ready to accept all archive objects relevant to COVID-19 pandemic handling from government ministries and institutions, the agency head affirmed.

"The circular is guiding archive creators to implement measures to rescue COVID-19 handling archives to bolster the accountability of government institutions' performance," Gunarto stated.

He noted that apart from enumerating the criteria of archives that must be rescued and preserved, the circular also requires archive creators to report and submit objects related to COVID-19 pandemic handling with historical values to the archiving agency.

As the circular has given mandate to the agency, ANRI will work promptly to consolidate COVID-19 pandemic handling archives and ensure that the process will be implemented earnestly, according to the agency head.

"ANRI hopes the complete COVID-19 pandemic archives will be a valuable source of information for people in the future," he stated.

Gunarto highlighted that to date, some 18 government institutions had presented COVID-19 handling archives created by them to the agency.

"So far, 18 institutions have been presenting their COVID-19 pandemic handling archives to ANRI, and the total archives accepted by us have reached eight thousand archive files or units," he remarked. (Antaranews)

U.S. and Russian defence firms on Thursday displayed weapons and promoted models of aircraft at Vietnam's first large-scale arms fair, as the two powers vie for influence and arms sales in the strategic Southeast Asian country that borders China.

The event at a Hanoi airbase attracted 174 exhibitors from 30 countries, including all large arms-making nations except China.

The arms fair "represents a new stage in Vietnam's efforts to globalise, diversify and modernise, and the United States want to be part of it," U.S. ambassador in Vietnam Marc Knapper told media on the sidelines of the event.

He said the United States wanted to boost its military cooperation with Vietnam - limited mostly to coastguard ships and trainer aircraft since the end of an arms embargo in 2016- and was ready to discuss its defence needs, especially on maritime capabilities.

Vietnam and China have been locked in a long-running territorial dispute over archipelagos and energy exploration in the South China Sea, with concerns it could one day lead to confrontation.

China was invited to join the arms fair but declined the offer.

Hanoi now aims to diversify arms sources "for the purpose of protecting the nation," Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said at the event's opening.

Diversification is widely seen as a byword for reducing dependence on Russia for weapons, although analysts underline that any possible shift would be gradual.

Russia's arms trade agency Rosoboronexport was present at the fair with a large booth displaying Russian drones, armoured vehicles, helicopters, planes and small arms.

The agency "is ready to discuss cooperation in the field of industrial partnership and the construction of infrastructure facilities," Director General Alexander Mikheev said in a statement.

Russia is by far the main weapons supplier to Vietnam, covering 80% of its needs, but its appeal has decreased recently, while the Ukraine war could constrain its defence exports and sanctions deter potential buyers.

Among the firms that displayed their wares was Czech-owned Colt, whose light weapons were among the most used by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War.

"Former enemies can become friends," Jens Heider, Colt director for international sales, told Reuters.

The exhibition was also an opportunity for Vietnamese defence firms to peddle their arms for the first time to possible international buyers.

Viettel, an army-owned telecommunication firm which doubles as Vietnam's largest defence company, displayed new radars, drones and surveillance systems, which its officers said attracted representatives from Mongolia, Cambodia and Belarus at the fair. (Reuters)

The European Commission said on Wednesday it had requested the formation of adjudicating panels at the World Trade Organization, the next step in two trade disputes with China after failing to resolve them bilaterally.

The disputes, both brought to the WTO at the beginning of the year, concern alleged Chinese restrictions on EU companies' rights to use foreign courts to protect their high-tech patents and on trade with EU member Lithuania.

The EU executive, which oversees trade policy for the 27-member European Union, said both sets of measures were highly damaging to European businesses, with those against Lithuania disrupting intra-EU trade and supply chains.

The Commission formally requested consultations with China at the WTO, the first step in a WTO challenge. Such consultations rarely resolve disputes.

The EU executive said the WTO panels would likely be formed in early 2023, noting that panel proceedings can last up to one and a half years.

China will handle the EU's trade disputes request in accordance with the WTO's dispute settlement procedure, its commerce ministry said in a statement.

The panel requests come as the European Union reviews its stance towards China, seeing it increasingly as a competitor and system rival. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has also led EU leaders to express concern about economic reliance on China, which has taken a more neutral stance on the conflict.

The United States and the EU held the third ministerial-level meeting on Monday of their Trade and Technology Council (TTC), designed to enhance regulatory cooperation and present a united front against China.

An EU official said the timing of the requests was not linked to the TTC, but reflected the work required to build both cases. In the Lithuania case, many of China's actions were not published measures, which are typically the focus for WTO litigation.

The Lithuania dispute stems from China's downgrading of diplomatic ties with the Baltic nation of 2.8 million people from December 2021, and pressure on multinationals to sever links with it, after it allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius.

The Commission said China had also placed import bans on alcohol, beef, dairy, logs and peat shipped from Lithuania on the basis of plant and food safety rules without proving the bans were justified.

The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that accusations it was targeting Lithuania with "discriminatory measures" were "pure fabrications". It did not elaborate.

In the other case, the Commission said Chinese courts had since August 2020 issued "anti-suit injunctions" that prevent European companies from seeking redress over standard-essential patents in non-Chinese courts, such as EU courts.

The Commission said Chinese manufacturers used the injunctions to pressure patent rights holders to grant them cheaper access to European technology. (Reuters)