Author: Mat Jebat

On the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, President Xi Jinping awarded Bayika Kalidibek, a 72-year-old veteran border guard, the national honorary title of “People’s Guard.” Bayika, an ethnic Tajik from the Pamir Plateau in Xinjiang, has spent 37 years patrolling China’s remote borders with Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region and Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor. His recognition by Xi has raised questions about whether the award signals a broader message of solidarity to the Pamiri peoples living in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, who have faced significant repression and human rights violations in recent years. A Lifelong Guardian of China’s Border Bayika…

In early October, Indonesian defence minister Prabowo Subianto will be inaugurated as the country’s 8th president. Unlike outgoing president Joko Widodo (Jokowi), whose administration was primarily focused on domestic development, Prabowo is keen to bolster Indonesia’s military capabilities and geopolitical footprint. He is expected to be an ‘orthodox innovator’, seeking to make gradual adjustments while deepening and expanding partnerships. One of Prabowo’s key priorities will be bolstering Indonesia’s military strength. In recent months, he has argued that a country’s prosperity is closely linked to its security, and Indonesia needs a strong and capable military to protect its interests. Over the past decade, Indonesia has…

Paris/Jakarta (24/7 – 28.57). “Coffee is the common man’s gold, and like gold, it brings to every person the feeling of luxury and nobility.” – Sheik-Abd-al-Kadir A friend recently opened a coffee shop is called after its owner, Muteeya. Though modest, it embodies the burgeoning coffee culture found in Paris, London, the US, and now Jakarta. The coffee is steaming hot, and soft tunes fill the air. Outside, rain pounds against the window, streaking down and forming small puddles on the street. As I gaze through the glass blurred by water, I take a sip of my warm coffee,…

China and Tajikistan on Friday announced the elevation of ties to comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ongoing state visit to Tajikistan, injecting new momentum and opening up a new chapter in bilateral ties and common development of the two countries. The visit, which saw Xi award Tajik President Emomali Rahmon the Friendship Medal of the People’s Republic of China and the issuing of a joint statement detailing the blueprint for bilateral cooperation, is seen as a landmark event, underscoring the high-quality development and the elevation of bilateral ties led by head-of-state diplomacy, analysts said. It showed that the…

Former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Tatyana Shevtsova, who officially was dismissed mid-June, fled to France ‘with hundreds of millions of dollars saved in cryptocurrency.’. Tsargrad and other Telegram channels report this with reference to several sources, although confirmation or refutation of this data has not yet been received. If she fled to France, it must be a deal with the French security service, as she is sanctioned in Europe. There is a version that Shevtsova allegedly cooperated with the investigation against the detained generals, trying to avoid her own charges. According to another version, the generals, to reduce their sentences,…

Europe’s new “Iron Lady”, Estonia’s Kaja Kallas, is one of the strongest voices for an uncompromising stand against belligerent Russia. Brussels (30 June – 28). Having grown up under the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Kaja Kallas was urging EU leaders to take the Russian threat seriously long before the invasion of Ukraine On Saturday, the Reform Party chose climate minister Kristen Michal to replace outgoing Kaja Kallas, who is the EU’s new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The unanimous decision to nominate Michal was made following a closed-door meeting by the party’s governing board only two days after…

MANILA (Reuters) – The Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN on Friday strongly condemned what it called a “heinous terrorist attack” in the southern Philippines at the weekend in which four people were killed in a bombing at a Catholic Mass. The bomb went off on Sunday during a service at a university gymnasium in Marawi, a city left in ruins in 2017 by a five-month military campaign to end an occupation by Islamic State loyalists that triggered alarm in Asia about the group’s influence. “We extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families,” the Association of Southeast Asian Nations said in…

Yogyakarta (ANTARA) – The Industry Ministry’s Center for Standardization and Services of the Handicraft and Batik Industry (BBSPJIKB) stated that the jewelry industry is one of the superior sectors in Indonesia and other countries in ASEAN. Acting Head of BBSPJIKB Hagung Eko Pawowo noted here on Monday that the total weight of jewelry demand in 2022 in ASEAN countries had reached 77.8 tons. “This amount is three times greater than the demand for jewelry in Hong Kong that reached 22.4 tons,” Pawowo remarked at the Jewelry Design and Marketing Training for ASEAN-Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The event…

KUCHING (Dec 7): Sarawak’s pursuit for a sustainable solution to its escalating traffic challenges has taken a promising turn with the advent of the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system. This was voiced out by the local community leaders interviewed by The Borneo Post after a special ride on the ART smart tram along the Kuching-Samarahan Expressway today. Sarawak Premier’s political secretary Kho Teck Wan said the ART system has the potential as a beacon of hope in alleviating traffic congestion. “In the long run, this would perhaps replace some vehicles and reduce traffic congestion,” she said after her third ride on the…

There’s an obvious reason CoC talks haven’t progressed: China isn’t interested.  Last month at the conclusion of talks with senior Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials in Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson optimistically announced that the parties had agreed to “accelerate negotiations so as to strive to reach at an early date an effective and substantive” Code of Conduct (CoC) to govern their activities in the South China Sea. This statement came eight months after a similar proclamation at the start of 2023, and served to bookend yet another year of the diplomatic kabuki theater that surrounds these perpetual deliberations. Just one year…