VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Canada has not committed to establishing an OPEC-like organization for nickel-producing countries with Indonesia and is "very unlikely" to participate in any such group, a Canadian government source familiar with the discussions said on Thursday.

Indonesia proposed talks with Canada to establish the organization in a meeting between Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia and Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali earlier this week.

A statement from Bahlil's office said Ng "welcomed the proposal and the next step for both countries to explore such collaboration opportunity."

"Minister Ng did not commit to exploring this collaboration at this time," said the source who was not authorized to speak on the record. "It is very unlikely we will be doing this (joining an OPEC-like nickel group). Officials expressed high levels of reservation about the Indonesian proposal."

A spokeswoman for the Indonesian investment ministry did not respond to a request for comment made outside of office hours.

Oil companies in many OPEC countries such as Saudi Arabia are owned by the government while in countries such as Nigeria contracts stipulate that government can compel private companies to cut or raise production.

A suggestion for a nickel OPEC had been met coolly by Canadian producers, who said a global cartel would not benefit them.

"Canadian companies are integrated into the North American supply chain and the Canadian resource base is a little bit different," said Canada Nickel (CNC.V) Chief Executive Mark Selby. "This proposal is more of a way for Indonesia to capture more value in their own country."

Bahlil said on Wednesday that a group of nickel-producing countries could make sure they get an optimal return from the electric vehicle (EV) industry.

The two ministers did discuss working with "allies such as Indonesia to develop sustainable and resilient global supply chains," said the source.

Indonesia and Canada are the world No. 1 and No. 6 nickel producers, respectively. (Reuters)

 Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will "expeditiously" finish their technical engagement as part of the ninth review of Pakistan's bailout programme, Pakistan's finance ministry said on Thursday.

Pakistani finance minister Ishaq Dar held a virtual meeting with the IMF Mission Chief for Pakistan, Nathan Porter.

"Engagement at the technical level shall be expeditiously concluded for proceeding with the 9th Review," a finance ministry statement said.'

Pakistan is in need of funds to shore up its struggling economy, exacerbated by devastating floods that wiped out much of the country's agriculture and infrastructure in recent months.

The IMF would "sympathetically view" assistance for flood victims, according to the statement, which added that it would firm up estimates for humanitarian assistance and priorities for recovery efforts.

The IMF board in August approved the seventh and eighth reviews of Pakistan's bailout programme, allowing for a release of over $1.1 billion.  (Reuters)

The Asia-Pacific is no one's backyard and should not become an arena of big power rivalry, China's President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, warning against Cold War tensions in a region that is a flashpoint of competition between Beijing and Washington.

Xi's remarks ahead of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok were an apparent reference to U.S. efforts with regional allies and partners to blunt what they see as China's growing coercive economic and military influence.

"No attempt to wage a new cold war will ever be allowed by the people or by our times," Xi said in written remarks prepared for a business event linked to the summit.

"We should follow a path of openness and inclusiveness," he said in the speech, which was provided by organisers, adding the region should not turn into "an arena for big power contest."

"Unilateralism and protectionism should be rejected by all; any attempt to politicise and weaponise economic and trade relations should also be rejected by all."

Relations between the world's two largest economies have grown strained in recent years over issues like tariffs, Taiwan, intellectual property, the removal of Hong Kong's autonomy and disputes over the South China Sea, among others.

In a move that may be seen by Beijing as a rebuke, a senior administration official said U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will on Tuesday visit the Philippine islands of Palawan on the edge of the disputed South China Sea.

The trip will make Harris the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island chain adjacent to the Spratly Islands. China has dredged the sea floor to build harbors and airstrips on the Spratlys, parts of which are also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Xi told Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr at a meeting in Bangkok that the strength of bilateral ties hinged on stable relations at sea, China's CCTV state broadcaster said, referring to disputes over areas of the South China Sea.

Harris will visit Palawan after attending the APEC meeting, which follows a series of regional summits so far dominated by geopolitical tension over the war in Ukraine.

At G20 meeting in Bali, countries unanimously adopted a declaration saying most members condemned the Ukraine war, but that also acknowledged some countries saw the conflict differently. Host Indonesia said the war was the most contentious issue.

Russia is a member of both G20 and APEC but President Vladimir Putin has stayed away from the summits. First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov will represent him at APEC.

'PIVOTAL JUNCTURE'

Host Thailand on Thursday said leaders gathering for the APEC forum should "rise above differences".

Its Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said the meeting of the 21-member bloc, which starts on Friday, "takes place at a pivotal juncture" with the world facing multiple risks.

"Cancel mentality... permeates every conversation and action, (and) makes any compromise appear impossible," he said in a statement after a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers ahead of the main summit.

"That's why APEC this year must rise above these challenges and deliver hope to the world at large."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is among those also attending the main meeting, while French President Emmanuel Macron is a special guest.

Xi held a rare summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida while in Bangkok, the first leadership-level meeting between the two countries in nearly three years, after which Kishida said he conveyed concerns about peace in the Taiwan Strait.

He reaffirmed with Xi that they would reopen dialogue between diplomatic officials and communicate closely, and said both leaders agreed Russia must not use the nuclear option in Ukraine. He declined to say what Xi said on the issue.

China's CCTV reported that Xi told Kishida the Taiwan issue involved the political foundation of ties between their two countries, and territorial disputes should be properly managed. The meeting came a day after tensions simmered in Bali, where Xi criticised Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in person over alleged leaks of their closed-door meeting, a rare public display of annoyance by Xi. Trudeau is also in Bangkok.

On Thursday, as leaders prepared for the APEC meeting, the junta in neighbouring Myanmar announced an amnesty for 5,774 prisoners, among them a Japanese filmmaker, a former British ambassador and an Australian economist and former adviser to deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi. State media said 700 of those released were political prisoners.

Activists and the military's opponents welcomed the amnesty, but warned the world not to be tricked by the junta, which they said was using people as bargaining chips.

At a news conference in Bangkok, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the release as "one bright spot in what is otherwise an incredibly dark time." (Reuters)

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Thursday as it warned of "fiercer military responses" to U.S. efforts to boost its security presence in the region with its allies, saying Washington is taking a "gamble it will regret."

North Korea has conducted a record number of such tests this year, and also fired hundreds of artillery shells into the sea more recently as South Korea and the United States staged exercises, some of which involved Japan.

South Korea's military said the ballistic missile was launched from the North's east coast city of Wonsan at 10:48 a.m. (0248 GMT), flying 240 km (150 miles) to an altitude of 47 km (29 miles) at the speed of Mach 4.

The latest launch came less than two hours after North Korea's foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, slammed a Sunday trilateral summit of the United States, South Korea and Japan, during which the leaders criticised Pyongyang's weapons tests and pledged greater security cooperation.

At the talks, U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed a commitment to reinforce extended deterrence and defend the two Asian allies with a "full range of capabilities", including nuclear weapons.

Choe said the three countries' "war drills for aggression" failed to rein in the North but would rather bring a "more serious, realistic and inevitable threat" upon themselves.

"The keener the U.S. is on the 'bolstered offer of extended deterrence' to its allies and the more they intensify provocative and bluffing military activities ... the fiercer the DPRK's military counteraction will be," Choe said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

She referred to her country by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"The U.S. will be well aware that it is gambling, for which it will certainly regret," Choe added.

The South Korean and U.S. militaries carried out missile defence drills after the North's latest launch, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, strongly condemning it.

"We urge an immediate halt of North Korea's series of ballistic missile launches, which is a grave provocation damaging peace and stability," the joint chiefs said in a statement.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson also condemned the launch, saying that, like the others this year, it violated multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and posed a threat to North Korea's neighbours and the international community.

"We remain committed to a diplomatic approach to the DPRK and call on the DPRK to engage in dialogue," the official said, adding: "Our commitment to the defence of the Republic of Korea and Japan remains ironclad."

The United States has said since May that North Korea is preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017, but its timing remains unclear.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo said in a joint statement after their summit that Pyongyang's nuclear testing would incur a "strong and resolute response."

Choe said the North's military activities are "legitimate and just counteractions" to the U.S.-led drills.

South Korea's Unification Minister Kwon Young-se, who handles intra-Korea affairs, said North Korea might postpone its nuclear test for some time, citing China's domestic political schedule.

"North Korea has also achieved some political effects by codifying its nuclear law in August, so it might not have immediate needs for a nuclear test," Kwon said in an interview with Yonhap news agency released on Thursday. (Reuters)