COVID-19 is making it painfully clear just how interconnected our social, economic, and political challenges are. The spread of the coronavirus disease has changed and affected everything including our environment. A recent poll conducted by the IPSOS MORI, a global market research company also found that 71% of the world population thinks climate change is as serious as coronavirus.

What are the impacts of COVID-19 on the international environmental agenda? Does the people’s fear on coronavirus as serious as climate change can be a contributing factor for our world leaders to make today as a momentum to drive more actions in saving our environment? What has COVID-19 pandemic “told” us about the importance of the community-based actions and contributions? How to build the same spirit to the global efforts in tackling climate change in this case?

I explore those questions with Dayu Nirma Amurwanti, Program Advisor, Climate & Forest, Royal Norwegian Embassy in Jakarta and Former Climate Finance Advisor at the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia. Check it out!

In this episode, I talked to Prof. Andrew Yeo, the Associate Professor and Director of Asian Studies at Catholic University of America on the New Southern Policy, a strategy of South Korea under President Moon Jae-in’s government to elevate its relations with the Southeast Asian nations and India. We discussed on the objectives of this policy, and the ways South Korea achieve the goals of this NSP.

Is there any resistance or undesirable movements from ASEAN nations and India towards this policy? What are the most significant challenges for South Korea in strengthening its relations with the Southeast Asian countries and India? Do China and the Unites States overlapped South Korea in terms of bilateral partnership with the ASEAN nations and India? In relates to the peace pillar of the NSP and the intense focus on South Korea’s renewed push for inter-Korea engagement. In what ways ASEAN can play a more constructive role in the peace process on the Korean Peninsula?

Get the answers by tuning into this podcast!

In this episode, I am talking to Angelo Wijaya, the advisor of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) ASEAN Society and the future foreign policy expert on the challenges and opportunities of ASEAN cooperation amidst the U.S. and China rivalry. The rivalry that is not only on the political level but spread over the security and economic sphere.

I explore of his views on the most pressing problems experienced by ASEAN caused by this inevitable and growing tensions. Are we trapped in the middle of these two major powers? What has the COVID-19 pandemic “told” ASEAN cooperation so far? And can ASEAN maintain its centrality and how we should hold this as a way to move forward?

In the last part of my conversation with him, I also asked him on why do young people need to be aware of ASEAN?

As we know, economic diplomacy has been the foremost priority of Indonesia’s foreign policy. One of the Minister Retno’s foreign policy priorities is to strengthen our economic diplomacy and enhancing our economic partnership with more countries worldwide. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an inevitable disruption to the Indonesia’s economic partnership plans, experts argued that there will even be a significant shifting economic direction caused by this health crisis.

I am talking to Dr. Faisal Karim on the strategy and approaches of economic diplomacy practiced by President Jokowi’s administration so far and the challenges faced by Indonesia due to President Jokowi’s inward-looking foreign policy along with the huge ambition of Indonesia’s economic diplomacy. But, the most important question is, what would be the future of our economic diplomacy? What are the possible challenges and how to anticipate those?

This is a special farewell interview with Ambassador Kim Chang-beom, the South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia. He is going to end his tenure as an Ambassador here in Jakarta, so I asked him on the development of Indonesia-Korea relationship. Moreover, President Moon Jae-in and President Joko Widodo have made some important visits to both countries during his time, therefore I asked him on what is his impression on the friendship between two leaders.

Ambassador Kim has been very active in maintaining a deep and strong engagement with young people across Indonesia through so many great initiatives. How has this helped to create a stronger relationship between the two nations?

In this episode, I also asked him what is your most favourite Indonesian food, city, song and artist? And at the end I had successfully revealed his top secret! Please enjoy!

Along with the rising cases of coronavirus infection around the world, the political tensions between global major powers are also growing significantly. Experts from all over the world start to discuss the geopolitical and geo-economics aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak. From the fragility of the globalized system, the changes in global economic directions until the analysis of U.S.-China power race competition during and after the coronavirus pandemic. Many also debated on the failure of regional cooperation like the European Union and ASEAN in handling the spread of COVID-19. Is ASEAN getting more united? Therefore, to get more understanding of such issues, I interviewed Prof. Kishore Mahbubani, a world top foreign policy expert to discuss specifically on the U.S.-China coronavirus tension and its impact on the geopolitical dynamics of Southeast Asia.

I talked to Azalea Johannes, an Indonesian Diaspora living in Washington D.C. about the ongoing protests and riots in the United States. What is #blacklivesmatter? What are some of the key historical events of systemic racism there? Does it give any transformational changes for the black American community? What does this mean for racial discrimination in the world and Indonesia? 

As we know, the COVID-19 pandemic is not only affecting the health and economic situation specifically to the Southeast Asian region, but it has also tested the political leadership of ASEAN leaders. Some of them have been criticized for not taking swift action in combatting the COVID-19, many also criticized of doing some authoritarian measures in their efforts to battle the pandemic. The political aspect of the COVID-19 crisis is a very interesting topic to discuss.

How will the COVID-19 impact politics in Southeast Asia? And in terms of the political communication strategy of ASEAN leaders, which one is the best? Have there been any correlations between the effectiveness of the political system with the successful result in dealing with the pandemic?

I explore those questions with Prof. Zachary Abuza and Prof. Bridget Welsh. Please enjoy!