VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi responded to a report by the United States Department of Defense (Pentagon) which stated that Indonesia was a country considered by China as a location for military logistics facilities.

"I want to emphasize that under the lines and principles of Indonesian foreign policy, Indonesian territory cannot and will not a base or military base or facility for any country," Retno said at a virtual press statement on Friday.

The Pentagon's annual report entitled "Military and Security Development Involving the People's Republic of China 2020" reveals China's plan to build a military logistics network in the Asia Pacific.

The Nikkei Asian Review reported, Wednesday (2/9), in the 200-page report, China considers Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and other countries in Africa and Central Asia as the right locations to realize the agenda.

The Chinese government has criticized the Pentagon report, which also stated that China wants to double the number of nuclear warheads in the next decade.

The report reveals that China has matched or surpassed the US military might in several areas of defense. The Chinese Ministry of Defense insisted that the Chinese military completely misinterpreted and defamed the report.

The Chinese government says the report is the latest example of the US fear of justifying its own military budget as the highest in the world. (Antaranews)

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto met Vice President Ma'ruf Amin at the Vice President's Official Residence, Jl. Diponegoro No. 2, Menteng, Central Jakarta, Thursday afternoon. Prabowo's visit to the vice president's residence was the first time since the cabinet's inauguration.

From 15.00 to 15.45 WIB, the Minister of Defense and the Vice President discussed the food estate program to maintain food security. According to Prabowo, every country is trying to find knowledge on how to deal with the food crisis, including Indonesia.

"Indonesian people are very dependent on rice, so we need a solution on how to stop and diversify this crisis," said Prabowo to the media crew.

Prabowo reported to the Vice President that 1.4 million hectares of land in various regions in Indonesia was ready for food estate. Some land is for rice and some for non-rice such as cassava, sago, sorghum, maize, and others. Prabowo said this food investment will depart from state funds and will be followed by investment funds.

"There are several countries interested in this concept, such as South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and China. They are interested in investing in this food sector because it is predicted that countries will fight for food, so it is possible for Indonesia to collaborate. Some of these areas include Central Kalimantan, Merauke, Bangka Belitung, and Jambi," said Prabowo.

In the meeting, Prabowo also reported on the problem of redistribution of idle land, which has not been used for too long, so it should be necessary to redistribute it.

Meanwhile, regarding the plan to repair defense equipment, Prabowo revealed plans to repair combat aircraft, ships, tanks for the army, sea, and air.

"Buying a new one is too expensive and longer to process. Therefore, it would be great if we improve the existing ones. For example, Hercules, Sukhoi planes, including tanks and ships can be repaired," he said.

Prabowo said what is more urgent is to buy bullets. Indonesia is short of bullets. Many Indonesians are good at shooting, but don't have bullets, he said.

In the special meeting, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin encouraged the management of 1.4 million hectares of land in various regions in Indonesia that were ready to become food estate, to involve elements of the local community.

"So that this program also involves the local community, including various elements of regional stakeholders, Islamic boarding schools, and others depending on the region," he concluded. (RRI)

The Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) proposed Simultaneous Covid-19 vaccination to protect all Indonesian citizens against new infections.

The General Chair of the IDI Executive Board, Daeng M Faqih, said it has to be simultaneous because the Covid-19 vaccine only has 6 months to 2 years to protect the body from the virus.

"This vaccine has the power to protect immunity. It is time-bound, so we see at least it can last for 6 months to protect, so this vaccination must be carried out simultaneously," Daeng said in a webinar on Thursday.

"In implementing vaccination, we have discussed that professional organizations such as IDI, PPNI, and Midwives' Association, which usually carry out vaccination activities, will merge to help the Task Force to vaccinate in the field," said Daeng.

Until now, there are three vaccine candidates from the international cooperations that will be used in Indonesia, namely the Sinovac, Sinopharm (G42) vaccine, and the CanSino vaccine.

Minister of State-owned Enterprises Erick Thohir emphasized that those who had the first chance to get the vaccine were health workers, namely doctors, nurses, and midwives.

"We are mapping all health workers, doctors, and nurses who will receive their first immunizations when the vaccine is ready for use early next year and are also at the forefront of mass immunization," Erick said in the press conference.

"Today we consulted with IDI and PPNI, we communicated the number for doctors, nurses, midwives including doctors, nurses in the National Army, National Police, they must get the vaccine first because they are the front liners," said Erick. (RRI)

The Indonesian government pushes the production of personal protective equipment and other medical devices with 100 percent raw materials from Indonesia.

The personal protective equipment met the international standards of AATCC 42 (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists) and ISO and ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), spokesperson for the COVID 19 Handling Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito said in a press statement on Thursday.

Wiku explained that this step was an effort and policy undertaken by the government in suppressing the spread of COVID 19. He added that other innovations made were making ventilators and cloth masks with the equivalent of surgical masks.

"Second, another innovation is making ventilators made in Indonesia that have been clinically tested well. The third is producing cloth masks, with the same filtration capability as surgical masks and reuseable, and developing domestic vaccines through the Eijkman and Biofarma consortium, namely the Merah Putih vaccine," Wiku said.

Wiku said the government aims to protect the vulnerable, comorbid sufferers, the elderly, including health workers.

Another step that the government will take is to suppress active cases to increase recovery and reduce mortality.
The government also aims to increase the number of testing, tracing, treatment, vaccinations, and increasing the availability of reagents, PCR, and personal protective equipment. (YouTube presidential secretariat / nouva)