VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Two international economic forums have just been held almost at the same time. The first forum is the Eastern Economic Forum -EEF with Russian sponsor, which was held on Tuesday 11 September 2018 in Vladivostok, Russia. Another forum is the World Economic Forum -WEF on ASEAN held in Hanoi, Vietnam 12 September 2018.

Although held almost at the same time, the two forums did not necessarily address the same issue. The World Economic Forum on ASEAN themed "ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution". Whereas, the Eastern Economic Forum -EEF held in Vladivostok became an antithesis of US policy towards China and Russia.

The WEF Forum in Hanoi is a good opportunity for ASEAN member countries to develop partnerships with partners and attract the attention and investment of international companies. Another thing to be achieved is access to new ideas and trends that occur in the region and in the world.

On the contrary, the EEF emphasized integration to overcome the economic pressures imposed by the United States on China and Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jin Ping agreed to increase trade by using their own currencies rather than the US dollar.

 Russia has been carrying out this Forum since 2015 to bring Russia's Eastern region closer to the rapidly growing East Asia. Russia needs to seek new opportunities, after the sanctions imposed by the US and European Union since Russia's occupation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine in 2014.

Chinese President Xi Jin Ping was present for the first time at this Eastern Economic Forum. In addition to economic relations, China and Russia were also involved in joint military exercises at almost the same time.

The implementation of these two forums is an indication that Southeast and East Asia have become the driving force of the world economy. The dynamics of development in the region should be maintained to reduce the level of conflict; like on the Korean peninsula, Japan's relations with Russia over the islands in northern Japan, China's trade war with the USA.

This is all a challenge for Asian countries to cooperate. If the growth in Asia stagnates, this will affect the growth of the world economy.

Indonesia and Malaysia are jointly learning the strategy to handle terrorism in Marawi City, Mindanao, the Philippines, in order to handle terrorism comprehensively.

"We can learn the operational and technical strategies carried out in the field to handle terrorism and terrorists in a comprehensive way, including its psychological impact on the community," Indonesian Ministry of Defense`s Training and Education Agency head Maj. Gen. Ida Bagus Purwalaksana stated at the Philippine Armed Forces 103rd Brigade Headquarters in Marawi on Thursday.

Abu Sayyaf militant group based in the southern island of Mindanao has kidnapped hundreds of Filipinos and foreigners since the early 1990s in order to get ransom. The US has named the group as a terrorist organization. Observers have stated the Abu Sayyaf, Maute, and other extremist groups claim to create a south-base Islamic caliphate for ISIS.

"This will certainly have an impact on Indonesia. Therefore, we need to work and learn together to handle them," Purwalaksana noted.

Malaysian Defense Minister Mohammad bin Sabu noted that eradicating terrorism could not just rely on a militaristic approach. The militaristic approach is only suitable to eradicate terrorists and not terrorism, he stated. In fact the eradication of terrorism requires awareness to counter such harsh ideology.

"For example, some teachings in religion are misunderstood. In Islam, there are teachings of jihad and martyrdom, which are considered to justify violent acts of terrorists. It is our duty to correct such wrong understanding," Sabu remarked.

Western Region Mindanao Military Command Lieutenant General Arnel B. Dela Vega remarked that fighting terrorism requires cooperation.

"We need to work together to counter terrorism. It is impossible for the military to face terrorism alone, we need cooperation from all parties," he explained.

The joint training program between Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia will continue to be carried out with expanded scope in the future. (ant) 

President Joko Widodo Wednesday, September 12, 2018, attended the World Economic Forum On ASEAN, which took place at the National Convention Center in Hanoi, Viet Nam. President called the current condition of the world economy towards ' infinite war ' or ' infinity war '. Take the story of the film ' the Avengers: Infinity War '.

The Siak district administration in Riau Province, will organize an international cycling and sports tourism event called Tour de Siak on September 17-21, 2018, to promote tourism internationally.

Tour de Siak will comprise four stages this year, as compared to three stages last year, Fauzi Asni, head of the Siak district tourism office, stated here, Thursday. The additional stage is Siak-Sungai Apit, stretching 115.16 kilometers (km).

The four stages are Siak-Dayun, covering 154.18 km; Siak -Sungai Apit, 115.18 km; Siak-Dayun-Buatan-Siak, 161.48 km; and the final stage is Siak City, 92.06 km. Since 2013, Siak has organized this annual event to promote tourism in the district. So far, 13 teams, comprising eight foreign teams and five domestic teams, have confirmed their participation in the cycling race, offering a total prize worth Rp750 million.

Asni expressed hope that Tour de Siak would help to increase the number of domestic and foreign tourists as well as boost the local economy.

Meanwhile, some 125 domestic and foreign cyclists have confirmed their participation in the 2018 Tour de Central Celebes (TdCC) to be held on Oct 14-18 this year. The number of participants increased from some 60 cyclists in the first TdCC organized in the previous year, Dr Hasan, race director of the Second TdCC, stated in Palu, Central Sulawesi, recently.

"The final number of participants is 20 foreign teams from 15 countries and five national teams. Each team will comprise five cyclists and three crew members," he remarked.

More cyclists are interested in the TdCC, as it has been included in the Union Cyclist Internasionale and will offer more prizes worth a total of Rp1.2 billion, or more than double than Rp580 million last year.

The foreign teams are from Australia, Mongolia, Malaysia, Canada, the Philippines, Iran, Belgium, Thailand, Poland, Uzbekistan, Serbia, China, Columbia, France, and the United States. The national teams are PGN, ACC, KFC, BRCC/UBK, and Indonesia Pratama.

The cycling race will cover a total distance of 760 kilometers, stretching from Luwuk City, Banggai District, to Palu Municipality. (ant)