VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin emphasized the importance of Asian and African countries in the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) to remain solid in addressing several global issues.

"AALCO must continue to maintain its solidarity and fight for the voices of Asian and African people in the formation of international law," he stated at the opening of the 61st Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) in Nusa Dua, Bali, Monday.

According to Amin, the solidarity is also intended to combat and return assets from transnational crimes.

Transnational crimes are often committed in maritime areas and bring loss to countries in Asia and Africa, he remarked.

"I encourage AALCO to provide a solution that reflects the synergy and integrated response of Asian-African nations to tackle transnational crimes at sea that threaten lives and economic growth," the vice president emphasized.

He then drew attention to the important role of AALCO in establishing a legal framework as a foundation for mutually beneficial inter-country partnerships, especially in responding to various global problems that threaten the future of humanity and development.

Amin is optimistic that AALCO member countries would be able to regulate breakthrough solutions to current global issues, such as climate change and sustainable development, inter-country trade and international investment, maritime issues, asset confiscation, and the development of artificial intelligence.

"AALCO is expected to design a legal architecture that accommodates development in technology and artificial intelligence to support the noble ideals of the Asia-Africa Conference," he remarked.

The 1955 Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung or Bandung Conference was the forerunner to the birth of AALCO. Currently, Indonesia is chairing the 2023 AALCO Chairmanship led by Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights, Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly, as the 61st President of AALCO.

Regarding transnational crimes at sea, Laoly explained that at the 61st AALCO session, his side would seek a common perception from AALCO member countries regarding these crimes, including fishing theft.

"We will try to convey the common perceptions and opinions of the AALCO countries at the AALCO session," he remarked. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will visit North Korea on Wednesday and Thursday this week, North Korea's state media KCNA and Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday.

Lavrov's visit comes a month after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare trip to Russia during which he and President Vladimir Putin discussed military cooperation, including over North Korea's satellite programme and the war in Ukraine.

The growing diplomatic exchanges between the countries have fanned concerns that they could shore up Russia's military in Ukraine while North Korea obtains missile technology banned under U.N. resolutions.

Washington has accused Pyongyang of providing weapons to Moscow for its war in Ukraine, including through a recent shipment from an ammunition depot in North Korea, though both have denied any arms transactions.

Nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States held talks in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Monday and warned against any illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

The envoys also pledged "stern responses" if the North launches a spy satellite this month as it had announced, after two failed attempts.

"They reaffirmed that there will be a clear price for North Korea's illegal actions that undermine peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the international community as a whole," the ministry said in a statement. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - South Korea will kick off its largest-ever defence exhibition this week, as the country seeks to turbocharge its arms sales and showcase a rare appearance by a U.S. nuclear-capable bomber.

The biennial Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) opens its doors on Tuesday, with organisers saying there will be more companies than ever and an unprecedented flyby from a U.S. B-52 bomber, which will make a rare landing at an airbase elsewhere on the peninsula.

This year’s show is designed to help South Korea to reach its goal of becoming the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, Lee Jong-ho, chief of the organising office, told a briefing on Monday.

More than 450 senior defence officials from 54 countries are expected to attend, along with hundreds of thousands of other professionals and members of the public, he said.

"This is an opportunity for Korea's defence industry to draw international attention and take a giant leap forward," Lee said.

The Korean government has set a goal of reaching $20 billion in defence exports this year after sealing a record $17.3 billion in arms sales last year, including huge deals with Poland for tanks, howitzers, warplanes, and rockets.

South Korea has been roughly ninth in the world for defence exports in recent years, but President Yoon Suk Yeol has called for it to improve.

At a South Korean military airbase south of Seoul on Monday, exhibitors made final preparations as participants in early events wandered among South Korean and U.S. military vehicles and warplanes on the tarmac, including advanced American stealth F-22 and F-35 aircraft.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of South Korea’s alliance with the United States, the show will feature a larger than usual display of American military power, including the B-52 flight said U.S. Air Force Colonel Charles Cameron.

Under Yoon, South Korea and the United States have stepped up displays of strength, particularly U.S. nuclear-capable assets, in an effort to deter North Korea.

Last month South Korea staged a rare military parade, in which thousands of troops and South Korea's home-grown tanks and self-propelled artillery were joined by 300 of the 28,500 U.S. soldiers based in the country.

A South Korean activist group said it planned to protest the event, calling the arms trade a "parasite" that benefits from the suffering in places such as Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - Malaysia does not agree with Western pressure to condemn Palestinian militant group Hamas, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday, amid widespread outrage over this month's deadly attack on southern Israel.

Western and European countries have repeatedly asked Malaysia to condemn Hamas in meetings, Anwar said, without providing details.

"I said that we, as a policy, have a relationship with Hamas from before and this will continue," Anwar told parliament.

"As such, we don't agree with their pressuring attitude, as Hamas too won in Gaza freely through elections and Gazans chose them to lead."

Muslim-majority Malaysia has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and has advocated for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. It does not have a diplomatic relations with Israel.

Top Hamas leaders in the past have often visited Malaysia and met with its premiers. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2013 defied Israel's blockade on Gaza, crossing into the Palestinian enclave following an invitation from Hamas. (Reuters)