VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian embassy in China held a cultural festival in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China on July 9-11. The event was opened by Indonesian Ambassador to China and Mongolia, Djauhari Oratmangun on Friday (9/7). It was attended by the Indonesian Consul General in Shanghai, Deny W Kurnia and the leaders of the Huibao Group, party leaders, and officials from the City of Suzhou. Besides, it was also attended by the head of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Inacham) in China, Indonesian professionals and business people. This event performed traditional dances and exhibited Indonesian food products. The various other products exhibited at the event are Indonesian companies’ products in China such as Kapal Api, Papatonk, Rusto Tempeh, Yantyty Group, Indofood, Duosus, Caryn Henna Art, Art Coffee.

Besides opening the festival, Ambassador Djauhari and Consul General Deny also participated in inaugurating the 3rd phase of the development of the Emerald City Suzhou (ECS). ECS is a superblock area of malls, shops and hotels. The ambassador also mentioned that the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and China, which has been running for 71 years since 1950, has developed rapidly over the last twenty years. Then, Ambassador Djauhari also explained that on one hand, the rapid development of this strategic partnership has placed China as Indonesia's largest trading partner. On the other hand, Indonesia is China's 4th largest trading partner.

In the investment sector, China has also become the second largest investment partner in Indonesia. This synergy of cooperation is continuously developed by the two countries, both within the framework of China's Belt Road Initiative (BRI) and Indonesia's Global Maritime Fulcrum (GMF).

The daily confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Indonesia are still increasing. Data from the Covid-19 Handling Task Force, covid19.go.id showed that on Monday (12/7), there were 40,327 confirmed positive cases of Covid-19. This figure is the highest number since March 2020. Of course, this number is worrying. This actually happened during the Emergency Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) period. The government of Indonesia has determined that Community Activity Restrictions takes place from July 3 to July 20 in Java and Bali.

The restrictions on community activities have also been tightened. The Provincial Government of Jakarta issued a new policy, namely the Worker Registration Certificate –STRP. This policy is intended for those who still have to work outdoors. The Worker Registration Certificate is also intended for people who have urgent interests to travel. The implementation of this policy reduces the number of those who will enter Jakarta. Only those who have STRP can enter Jakarta. According to the plan, this policy is operational until July 20.

Other steps taken by the Indonesian government are to increase the capacity of self-isolation facilities and hospitals (RS) for handling Covid-19 patients. Quoting the official website of the Cabinet Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia, Minister of Works and Public Housing, Basuki Hadimuljono said that since July 10, he has operated the Hajj Dormitory in East Jakarta, as an Emergency Hospital for Covid-19 patients. This emergency hospital will only accommodate Covid-19 patients with mild and moderate symptoms. He also added that in the next week, the Covid-19 hospital will start operating. The place used is 6 floors in the Kiara Pavilion, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta. The government, through Indonesian Armed Forces -TNI, has prepared field hospitals in a number of regions.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marinves) as well as Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN), Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan expressed that the government provides 300 thousand packages of free therapeutic drugs for Covid-19 patients. The drug package is for the treatment of patients with asymptomatic categories and mild symptoms who are in self-isolation. Another effort made by the government is processing imports of 40 thousand tons of liquid oxygen and oxygen concentrators in large quantities.

The implementation of restrictions on community activities and worker registration certificates increases the number of self-isolation facilities and hospitals, and the plan to import oxygen is the government's steps to handle and overcome Covid-19. It is hoped that in the next few days, the handling situation will result in an improved situation. The steps that have been taken by the Indonesian government must be supported by all Indonesian people, not only with high awareness, but also concrete actions from the Indonesian people. If neglected and negligent, it will not only increase the number of people exposed, but will affect all aspects of the life of the Indonesian people. Wearing masks, getting used to washing hands and keeping a distance are something non-negotiable and must be carried out by the people of Indonesia. Strict action needs to be taken against those who violate it. The hope to shake off from the Covid-19 pandemic must be realized by all Indonesian people without exception.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto along with the United States Ambassador to Indonesia, Sung Kim discussed various matters from improving the trade balance to vaccination through a virtual meeting. The trade value between Indonesia and the United States is currently around US$30 billion dollars, smaller than the bilateral trade between the United States and other ASEAN countries.

Minister Airlangga Hartarto in his statement in Jakarta, Thursday (8/7) said that Indonesia could increase the value of trade by two or three times, considering that Indonesia is the largest economy in ASEAN. There is plenty of room for trade between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the United States Ambassador to Indonesia, Sung Kim hopes that economic relations, including in the fields of trade and investment, between the two countries will continue to grow. There are various investment prospects from US companies that are attracted to Indonesia.

In addition, Ambassador Kim stated, the United States government expressed concern over the difficult times faced by Indonesia due to the Covid-19 pandemic and would donate vaccines to help deal with the pandemic in Indonesia. According to Ambassador Sung Kim, the United States government has donated 4 million doses of the Moderna vaccine along with other technical and medical assistance, as well as oxygen. The Indonesian government also appreciates the support and supply of the Moderna vaccine from the United States.

Minister Airlangga Hartarto, who is also the Chairman of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and the National Economic Recovery, further said that vaccine support could help and increase the level of confidence of health workers as front-liners. He added that in serving the community's need for medical care during the pandemic, the government uses health equipment both from within the country and import, supported by relaxation of import duties.

The virtual meeting also discussed prospects for renewable energy cooperation. Minister Airlangga also explained that various potential renewable energy resources, such as solar, wind and geothermal exist in Indonesia. The government is also encouraging the use of solar panels on several islands, such as Batam and Bintan through the solar program, to increase the market demand for solar panels. Minister Airlangga emphasized that Indonesia is open to cooperation with the United States to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in Indonesia.

University of Indonesia (UI) students who are members of the UI Autonomous Marine Vehicle (AMV) Team again contributed to achievements in the international arena. A team of 26 students from various cross-faculty study programs at UI designed a ship called ‘MAKARA MH4 XX’. The ship won 3rd place in the Video Skills Category: Sensor Optimization at the 14th International RoboBoat Competition 2021. This victory is a comeback from the AMV UI team after a year of absence from the annual competition. RoboBoat 2021 was participated by 14 teams from 6 countries with 303 participants. They come from high schools and universities at the undergraduate level, and postgraduate level. The competition was held online from March 29 to June 27, 2021. RoboBoat aims to provide a simplified version of the challenges faced in the modern world maritime industry. RoboNation is an institution that focuses on the development of robotic technology based in Florida, United States.

The MAKARA MH4 XX ship is designed by using the Hydrofoil Supported Catamaran (HYSUCAT) concept. The basic principle of HYSUCAT is to utilize a high performance hydrofoil system in the tunnel between the two hulls. The hydrofoil system consists of a main foil placed between and parallel to the bottom of the hull, slightly towards the ship's center of gravity. The team under the guidance of Dr. Muhammad Arif Budiyanto, Head of the Marine Engineering Study Program, Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia, chose the HYSUCAT design concept because of several advantages, including that HYSUCAT is much more comprehensive than a catamaran or monohull of comparable size, especially during heavy loads and at high speeds. The performance of the Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV), or autonomous surface ship, is critical for competition, especially on speed gate mission tasks. The Skills Video category participated in by MAKARA MH4 XX is intended to highlight how autonomous ships have various input sensors, and can integrate all of these sensors so that the ship carries out its mission quickly and precisely. This integration is expressed in the form of video skills that are collected and then published on the RoboBoat YouTube channel.

Angelita Cindi Viani, AMV UI Team manager explained that the team implemented a new machine learning method, namely transfer learning for the automated detection program from the ship. Transfer learning is the process of building a custom machine learning model, based on a model that has been pre-trained to study thousands of images. According to Angelita, the trained model used is MobileNet, because it has fewer parameters, smaller network size, and faster performance. By using this method, object detection in each mission will be more accurate; the robot will move in a more directed way with a better detection rate. In addition, transfer learning reduces the computational requirements and saves a lot of time and team resources. RoboBoat gives participants the opportunity to design, build, and test an Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV), as well as compare the unique systems of each vessel with contestants from around the world.