VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia at the 27th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) held via video conference on Saturday pushed member states to work closely to address the challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region.

The forum discussed a wide range of issues, ranging from border dispute, escalating tension in the South China Sea, lack of progress on denuclearization in the Korean Peninsula, terrorism threat to rivalry between two superpowers.

"Under these current circumstances, we underscore the need for ARF to remain relevant to forge cooperation among (member) states in addressing the ever increasingly complex challenges in the region," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a virtual press statement on the meeting.

In the press statement, Indonesia highlighted the significance of member states projecting dialog culture and values and peaceful settlement of conflicts.

The values and norms have navigated the Southeast Asian region in dealing with a wide range of challenges and become a guide to establishing cooperation with partner countries in the region for more than five decades, she said.

"We hope all partner countries including ARF member states to stick to the values," she remarked.

Indonesia is also looking forward to seeing peaceful and stable South China Sea where internationally-recognized principles including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 are upheld, she said.

In fact, the matter has been outlined in the joint communique of the 53rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) stating that UNCLOS 1982 constitutes the frame of international law for all activities in waters and sea.

"The Code of Conduct in the South China Sea must be consistent with the international law including UNCLOS 1982. Indonesia also stressed that UNCLOS 1982 is the only basis to determine maritime entitlements, sovereignty and sovereign rights, jurisdiction, and legitimate interest in waters and sea," she said. ,

Indonesia also highlighted the importance of strengthening cooperation to deal with transnational security challenges, especially the threats of terrorism and human trafficking during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I remind (the forum) that poverty and recession will increase the potential of groups to recruit them in terrorism movement. For its part Indonesia proposes an ARF statement related to treatment of children recruited by or associate with terrorist group. In sya Allah (Gode willing) it could be agreed upon and become the outcome of the ARF meeting," she said..

ARF is part of a series of ASEAN Ministerial Meetings held every year.

ARF consists of 10 ASEAN member states, China, Japan, the United States, Russia,, North Korea, South Korea. India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh, Timor Leste, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and European Union.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. (ANTARA)

Indonesian parliamentary delegation pushed for resolutions on regional stability in the South China Sea amid the global pandemic and humanitarian aid for the Rohingyas of Rakhine State, Myanmar at an ASEAN forum on Wednesday.

The Indonesian delegation fought for the approval of resolutions drafted on the two issues at the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), which was held online.

The Indonesian delegation was headed by the chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee of the House of Representatives (DPR), Fadli Zon. He was accompanied by his deputy, Putu Supadma Rudana, and delegation member Didi Irawady Samsudin.

At the meeting, Fadli Zon argued that the draft resolution on regional stability and peace was important to strengthen ASEAN's inter-parliamentary cooperation for handling the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak and its tremendous socio-economic impacts.

The Indonesian delegation also brought up another draft resolution on humanitarian aid for the Rohingya people in Myanmar.

Speaking on the issue, Fadli Zon deplored the Parliament of Myanmar's refusal to the DPR's proposal for AIPA support for agreements reached by the governments of ASEAN member countries on the Rohingya issue.

He argued that the problems related to the Rohingya people in Rakhine State had triggered a spillover effect on the Southeast Asian region, such as the arrival of people by boat from Myanmar's Rakhine State amid the pandemic situation.

Indonesia and many other countries are paying serious attention to the “boat people” issue, he said. Therefore, support for Myanmar to provide humanitarian aid and a guarantee for conducting peaceful and humanist repatriation of the Rohingya refugees are important, he added.

Regarding the humanitarian issues related to the Rohingya people, Fadli Zon revealed that this year's AIPA's General Assembly would not pass any resolution if the assembly's political commission fails to reach a consensus on the DPR's proposals.

On June 24, 2020, three Acehnese fishermen had rescued 99 Rohingya migrants on humanitarian grounds after their boat got stranded in the waters off Seunuddon, North Aceh.

The High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)-Indonesia Office had officially granted refugee status to the 99 Rohingya migrants, according to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in her press statement in July this year. (ANTARA)

Indonesian parliamentary delegation pushed for resolutions on regional stability in the South China Sea amid the global pandemic and humanitarian aid for the Rohingyas of Rakhine State, Myanmar at an ASEAN forum on Wednesday.

The Indonesian delegation fought for the approval of resolutions drafted on the two issues at the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), which was held online.

The Indonesian delegation was headed by the chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee of the House of Representatives (DPR), Fadli Zon. He was accompanied by his deputy, Putu Supadma Rudana, and delegation member Didi Irawady Samsudin.

At the meeting, Fadli Zon argued that the draft resolution on regional stability and peace was important to strengthen ASEAN's inter-parliamentary cooperation for handling the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak and its tremendous socio-economic impacts.

The Indonesian delegation also brought up another draft resolution on humanitarian aid for the Rohingya people in Myanmar.

Speaking on the issue, Fadli Zon deplored the Parliament of Myanmar's refusal to the DPR's proposal for AIPA support for agreements reached by the governments of ASEAN member countries on the Rohingya issue.

He argued that the problems related to the Rohingya people in Rakhine State had triggered a spillover effect on the Southeast Asian region, such as the arrival of people by boat from Myanmar's Rakhine State amid the pandemic situation.

Indonesia and many other countries are paying serious attention to the “boat people” issue, he said. Therefore, support for Myanmar to provide humanitarian aid and a guarantee for conducting peaceful and humanist repatriation of the Rohingya refugees are important, he added.

Regarding the humanitarian issues related to the Rohingya people, Fadli Zon revealed that this year's AIPA's General Assembly would not pass any resolution if the assembly's political commission fails to reach a consensus on the DPR's proposals.

On June 24, 2020, three Acehnese fishermen had rescued 99 Rohingya migrants on humanitarian grounds after their boat got stranded in the waters off Seunuddon, North Aceh.

The High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)-Indonesia Office had officially granted refugee status to the 99 Rohingya migrants, according to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in her press statement in July this year. (ANTARA)

The National Task Force for COVID-19 Response claimed on Thursday that the government's efforts over the past six months to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and curb infections have yielded fruit.

The government's efforts have included the issuance of a policy on using a zoning system to designate and control regional response, spokesperson for the task force, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito, said in reply to a journalist's question during a press conference at the Presidential Office here on Thursday(3/9).

Zoning refers to the disaster system, which classifies regions into red zones to represent areas with high risk, orange zones to represent areas with moderate risk, yellow zones to represent areas with low risk, and green zones to represent unaffected areas, he elaborated.

"The government also has increased the number of testing laboratories from one to more than 300 across Indonesia," he said.

Meanwhile, the number of referral hospitals, both at the national and provincial levels, has swelled to more than 800, he pointed out.

As a result, the percentage of active cases nationwide has declined to 23.64 percent of the total cases in August, 2020 from 91.26 percent in March, he noted.

"The mortality rate has also dropped to 4.47 percent in August, after reaching its peak of 8.64 percent in April, 2020," he added.

Likewise, the national recovery rate has also jumped to 72.17 percent of the total cases in August, 2020 from just 3.64 percent in March this year, he said.

In terms of innovation, the government has encouraged the production of local personal protective equipment and other medical devices using raw materials that are completely sourced from local suppliers, and in compliance with international standards, such as AATCC 42, ISO, and ASTM, Adisasmito said.

Other innovations include locally-made ventilators that have successfully undergone clinical testing and reusable face masks, which have a filtration capacity comparable to surgical masks.

Indonesia has recorded 3,622 new COVID-19 cases within the last 24 hours, which have pushed the total case count to 184,268, the task force reported on Thursday.

Meanwhile, with 2,084 people recovering from COVID-19, the total recoveries have reached 132,055.

The death toll has climbed to 7,750, with 134 additional people succumbing to the virus.

The figures suggest that the country currently has 44,463 active cases, or patients still receiving treatment or undergoing self-isolation.

On Thursday, the authorities examined 37,597 specimens from 19,306 people at 220 laboratories across the country. A total of 2,388,865 specimens from 1,353,291 people have been examined since the country reported the first COVID-19 cases in March, 2020.

The authorities have also recorded 84,071 suspected cases, who are currently under surveillance.

COVID-19 positive cases have been found in 34 provinces, with 488 cities and districts reporting infections.

On Thursday, five provinces recorded the highest number of new cases, with Jakarta reporting 1,359 new infections, East Java 377, Central Java 242, West Java 238, and Bali 174 cases. (ANTARANEWS)