VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. Indonesia and Singapore are exploring the possibility of reopening the border between both nations to drive tourist arrivals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have discussed prudential preparations for the revival of the travel and tourism sector," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stated while divulging details of the outcome of a meeting with her Singaporean counterpart, Vivian Balakrishnan, here on Thursday.

The cooperation being explored by the two countries during the meeting comprise a pilot project for reopening their border in a secure, gradual, and prudential manner.

"Once again, the health and security of visitors and the public are of the utmost importance," Marsudi emphasized.

The minister explained that both countries began contemplating on reviving tourism activities on account of a decline in the COVID-19 caseload and progress in the implementation of the vaccination program in the two countries.

The Indonesian government has, so far, administered the COVID-19 vaccine to some nine million people, with an average of 500 thousand people vaccinated on a daily basis, Marsudi stated.

However, the minister cautioned that the two countries should not become inattentive on account of the positive trend, but on the contrary, they should work harder to unitedly recover from the pandemic.

Balakrishnan warmly welcomed the possibility of the two nations reviving the tourism sector that had borne the brunt of the pandemic.

As Indonesia's close neighbor, Singapore is sentient of the importance of fostering cooperation between the two nations in various sectors to usher in economic recovery.

"The past one year has been a very challenging period for Singapore and Indonesia due to COVID-19. However, I believe that we have been successful in our collaboration to tide through the common crisis, to save lives, and work hard to curtail the economic impact on the people (of the two countries)," Balakrishnan affirmed.

While reiterating Singapore's commitment to maintaining sound ties with Indonesia, Balakrishnan highlighted the plan of both nations’ leaders to meet directly to deliberate on ways to intensify multisectoral cooperation.

"The meeting of the (two) leaders will be continued this year. They will meet directly and have a complete agenda to discuss," he remarked while falling short of revealing the exact date of the retreat.

Since October 2020, Indonesia and Singapore have applied the travel corridor arrangement (TCA) to facilitate official and essential business travels. The move is part of the efforts of both nations to revive the economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. The United States has begun a review of whether to declare the Myanmar military’s campaign against the Rohingya minority a genocide and should have an answer “in the not-too-distant future,” a State Department official told U.S. senators on Thursday.

“The process has begun. I can’t get into more detail than that at this point... but the secretary (Secretary of State Antony Blinken) is very committed to the review and to this process and I think we will have an answer in the not-too-distant future,” Scott Busby, acting principal deputy assistant Secretary of State for democracy, human rights and labor, said.

Busby testified on Thursday at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee subcommittee hearing looking at the U.S. response to the coup in Myanmar.

Reuters reported on Thursday that in the last days of the Trump administration, some U.S. officials urged outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to formally declare that the Myanmar military’s campaign against the Rohingya minority was a genocide, but Pompeo never made that call. (Reuters)

Jakarta. The United Nations Security Council North Korea sanctions committee is due to meet on Friday, at the request of the United States, over Pyongyang’s launch of two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea near Japan, a spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations said.

The move suggests a measured response by U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to North Korea’s first tests since he took office in January. Attempts by the Biden administration to reach out to North Korea have so far been rebuffed, according to U.S. officials.

Earlier on Thursday, Biden said the United States remained open to diplomacy with North Korea in spite of its missile tests this week, but warned there would be responses if North Korea escalates matters.

When North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles a year ago, Britain, Germany, France, Estonia and Belgium raised the issue behind closed-doors in the U.N. Security Council at ambassador level and then the European members condemned the tests as a provocative action in violation of U.N. resolutions.

In contrast, the United States asked for Friday’s meeting of the sanctions committee, comprised of lower-level diplomats from the 15 council members, to discuss the latest launches.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Pyongyang to renew its diplomatic engagement with all parties concerned and to work for peace and stability, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said on Thursday.

“Diplomatic engagement is the only pathway to sustainable peace and complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Haq said.

North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since 2006 North Korea has been subjected to U.N. sanctions, which the Security Council has strengthened over the years in an effort to target funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Typically, China and Russia - which along with the United States, Britain and France hold veto power on the Security Council - have viewed only a test of a long-range missile or a nuclear weapon as a trigger for further possible U.N. sanctions.

North Korea has not tested a nuclear weapon or its longest-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) since 2017, ahead of an historic meeting in Singapore between leader Kim Jong Un and former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018.

However it has maintained and developed its nuclear and ballistic missile programs throughout 2020, helping fund them with some $300 million stolen through cyber hacks, according to independent U.N. sanctions monitors. (Reuters)

Jakarta. Singapore has said it supports Indonesia’s proposal to organize a summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to help resolve the crisis in Myanmar.

The two countries share the same position on responding to the political crisis post the Myanmar military coup, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said after meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi here on Thursday.

"And therefore, we also support our leaders getting together to generate a common position in which ASEAN can express its support for Myanmar," Balakrishnan told the press.

The visiting Singaporean minister said his country is very concerned about the developments in Myanmar, and the loss of human lives due to "the use of weapons against unarmed civilians".

To resolve the political conflict in Myanmar, national reconciliation must be prioritized through negotiations carried out in good faith in order to find a long-term solution, he stressed.

"Both Indonesia and Singapore also believe that there should be no foreign interference (in the settlement of the Myanmar crisis). But ASEAN is ready to assist in (resolving) any problem, " he added.

Voicing similar concerns as Singapore on the situation in Myanmar, Marsudi again called on the Myanmar military to stop using force and prevent further casualties.

"We also urge Myanmar to start a dialogue to get democracy, peace, and stability back on track," she stated.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) recently said that he plans to broach the possibility of holding an ASEAN Summit to discuss the Myanmar issue with the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, who is chair of ASEAN this year.

Widodo has also urged that dialogue for reconciliation be held immediately to restore democracy, peace, and stability in the country.

"The safety and welfare of the people must be the top priority," he said on Friday (March 19, 2021). (Antaranews)