VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia is exploring collaboration with the government of Spain for building 10 surveillance ships through foreign loan or foreign grant schemes, according to the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry.

"(We are) still in the process of negotiation. Hopefully, the governments of Indonesia and Spain will collaborate to build 10 units (of surveillance ships)," the ministry's director general of marine and fish resources monitoring, Rear Admiral Adin Nurawaluddin, told ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday.

According to Nurawaluddin, the government is planning to build ten ships to comply with the domestic component level (TKDN) requirement.

"To accord with the TKDN rule, of the 10 units, 4 will be built in Spain, while the rest (will be made) in Indonesia," he expounded.

Earlier, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono revealed that his ministry was set to receive 2 surveillance ships from the Japanese government, namely Hakurei Maru and Shirahagi Maru.

Hakurei Maru arrived in Indonesia on June 15, 2023, and was renamed Orca 05, while Shirahagi Maru, rechristened Orca 06, arrived later in September this year.

The two ships, both measuring 63.37 meters in length, were used for patrol by the Fisheries Agency of Japan and can operate at sea for up to 25 days.

In a statement released earlier on July 21, Nurawaluddin informed that the Orca 06 would be used by the ministry to improve the monitoring of national marine resources in North Natuna Sea, Indonesian waters in the South China Sea.

He also noted that in 2022 alone, the ministry detected as many as 23 thousand boats involved in illegal fishing activities in Indonesian waters.

It is expected that the surveillance ship will have the capability to prevent such occurrences in North Natuna waters, he said. (Antaranews)

VOInews, Bandung: Malaysian Ambassador to ASEAN Dato' Nur Izzah Wong Me Coo said that every member country of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is making efforts to promote tourism as a supporting factor for their economy. According to her, this will provide benefits not only to each country but also to other countries in the region.

"Malaysia has always believed that if we are all prosperous then the entire region will be prosperous and each will benefit from it," she said at the Diplomatic Forum hosted by RRI Voice of Indonesia in Bandung, West Java, Thursday (2/11/2023).

He added that ASEAN as a unit in a region, is unique in terms of tourism compared to other regions. Moreover, ASEAN also has a lot to offer both as an individual country and as a unit.

"We certainly have challenges, but I believe that we can do more as a family," he said.

Meanwhile, the Director of ASEAN Socio-Cultural Cooperation at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yuliana Bahar, said that in efforts to promote ASEAN tourism, emphasizing the importance of cross-sectoral coordination and collaboration, including coordination and collaboration across ASEAN pillars. Apart from that, according to him, a common understanding of the challenges and differences each ASEAN country has is also needed.

“We must strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and potential and relevant partners. "Without that, it will be difficult to make ASEAN a single tourism destination," he said.

This is also Indonesia's spirit in chairing ASEAN this year. According to Yuliana, Indonesia as the chair of ASEAN in 2023 encourages the realization of broader cooperation between ASEAN and all partners, including countries in the Indo-Pacific region. (Andy Romdoni)

VOINews, Jakarta - Israel said it had surrounded the Gaza Strip's biggest city and the focus of its drive to annihilate Hamas, as the United States was set to press Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to pauses in fighting to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave.

With the conflict nearing the end of its fourth week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to visit Israel for the second time in a month to meet Netanyahu as Israel's military battled Hamas militants, who fought back with hit-and-run attacks from underground tunnels.

"We're at the height of the battle. We've had impressive successes and have passed the outskirts of Gaza City. We are advancing," Netanyahu said in a statement after the military said it had encircled the seaside enclave's main city.

As Blinken left Washington for the Middle East, he said he would discuss concrete steps to minimise harm to civilians in Gaza. The White House, meanwhile, said any pauses in fighting should be temporary and localised, and insisted they would not stop Israel defending itself.

Mounting casualties among Palestinian civilians, along with acute shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel, have intensified calls by global leaders for a pause in fighting or a ceasefire.

Israel has dismissed those calls, saying it targets Hamas fighters whom it accuses of intentionally hiding among the population and civilian buildings. The White House has also rejected calls for a ceasefire.

Gaza health authorities say at least 9,061 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its assault on the enclave of 2.3 million people in retaliation for deadly attacks by Hamas militants on southern Israel.

A group of independent United Nations experts warned that Palestinians in Gaza are at "grave risk of genocide".

"We call on Israel and its allies to agree to an immediate ceasefire. We are running out of time," the group of U.N. special rapporteurs said in a statement.

The Israeli mission to the U.N. in Geneva called the rapporteur's comments "deplorable and deeply concerning" and blamed Hamas for the civilian deaths. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said a determination of genocide could only be made by a relevant U.N. judicial body.

Israel says Hamas killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 240 hostages in the attacks on Oct. 7, the deadliest day of its 75-year-old history.

The White House said on Thursday it was looking into a series of pauses in the conflict.

"What we're trying to do is explore the idea of as many pauses as might be necessary to continue to get aid out and to continue to work to get people out safely, including hostages," U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

Blinken also was due to meet Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman on Saturday. In a statement, Safadi said Israel must end the war on Gaza, where he said it was committing war crimes by bombing civilians and imposing a siege.

Gulf Arab power, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), warned on Friday that tension in the Middle East was "approaching a boiling point" and that it was working "relentlessly" to reach an immediate and full humanitarian ceasefire.

"The risk of regional spillover and further escalation is real, as well as the risk that extremist groups will take advantage of the situation to advance ideologies that will keep us locked in cycles of violence," Noura al-Kaabi, a minister of state for foreign affairs, told a conference in Abu Dhabi.

HAMAS FIGHTERS EMERGE FROM TUNNELS

Amid heavy explosions in Gaza, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters his country's "troops completed the encirclement of Gaza City, which is the focal point of the Hamas terror organization".

Brigadier General Iddo Mizrahi, chief of Israel's military engineers, said troops were encountering mines and booby traps.

"Hamas has learned and prepared itself well," he said.

Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, said in a televised speech on Thursday that Israel's death toll in Gaza was much higher than the military had announced. "Your soldiers will return in black bags," he said.

Israel has said it has lost 18 soldiers and killed dozens of militants since ground operations expanded on Friday.

Hamas and allied Islamic Jihad fighters were emerging from tunnels to fire at tanks, then disappearing back into the network, residents said and videos from both groups showed.

Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the U.S was flying intelligence-gathering drones over Gaza to help locate hostages. One of the officials said they had been carrying out the drone flights for over a week.

MORE FOREIGNERS DUE TO EVACUATE

The Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt was due to open for a third day on Friday for limited evacuations under a Qatari-brokered deal aimed at letting some foreign passport holders, their dependents and some wounded Gazans out of the enclave.

According to border officials, more than 700 foreign citizens left for Egypt via Rafah on the two previous days. Dozens of critically injured Palestinians were to cross too. Israel asked foreign countries to send hospital ships for them.

Thailand said it is in touch with Iran and other governments that can make contact with Hamas for the safe release of nearly two dozen Thai nationals being held hostage.

Thailand's Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said on Friday that Iran, which is close to Hamas, had promised to help with negotiations.

Over a third of Gaza's 35 hospitals are not functioning, with many turned into impromptu refugee camps.

"The situation is beyond catastrophic," said the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, describing packed corridors and many medics who were themselves bereaved and homeless. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - Four Indonesian citizens, namely Abdillah Onim, his three children, and his Palestinian wife were successfully evacuated from the Gaza Strip to Cairo, Egypt, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi stated.

"Praise be to God, on November 2, at around 19:00 Egyptian time, we were able to evacuate four Indonesian nationals and one Palestinian from Gaza," she noted in a press conference in Jakarta on Friday.

After traveling for seven hours and covering a distance of 367 kilometers, the family and the evacuation team arrived in Cairo at 3:00 local time, she remarked.

"The evacuation was not an easy thing to do," Marsudi emphasized.

On November 1, Onim's family residing in Gaza City attempted to get to the Rafah border but had to return due to the hostile situation arising due to ongoing attacks from Israel to the Palestinian militant group, Hamas.

Onim's family and the evacuation team then returned to their place of origin while waiting for the situation to improve. The evacuation effort was carried out again in the morning of November 2 but was unsuccessful.

"For the third time, on November 2 afternoon, the evacuation attempt was finally successful," Marsudi remarked.

Apart from security issues, the minister explained that the obstacle faced in the field was the disrupted communication network that hampered coordination.

Despite disruption in communication, the Indonesian government and the evacuation team from the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo continued the communication attempt until they finally succeeded in rescuing Onim's family from Gaza, she stated.

"Thank you, God. Thank you, Minister Marsudi. We are on the way to the embassy, thank you for your help," Onim said in a voice message played to the media during the press conference.

In accordance with the Egyptian government regulations, all foreign nationals, including Indonesian citizens, who were evacuated from Gaza, are given 3 x 24 hours to immediately leave the country.

The government promises to facilitate Onim and his family to be moved to a safe area, either to Indonesia or another country.

After successfully rescuing four Indonesian citizens, the government will still attempt to evacuate another Indonesian citizen and his family, namely Muhammad Hussein and his children and wife from Gaza, Marsudi remarked. (Antaranews)