We are a local music group in the San Luis Valley who is very verse in music styles. The new web platform aims to help people find ways to improve the way they work, collaborate and build successful lives for themselves. My mothers side of the family is Sudanese-Egyptian and I grew up speaking fluent Arabic alongside English, even though I was born in the UK. Early in Joko Widodos presidency, Chinas assertive behaviour in the South China Sea presented him with one of his first major foreign policy challenges. Indonesia and the Philippines, the only ASEAN member-states with truly competitiveelectoral systems, have experienced a decline in the quality of their democracy, withgovernments critics and civil society groups under growing pressure. The Indonesian government is also trying to increase trade diplomacy with partner countries through bilateral agreements. Delivered Wednesday. WebBen Bland is the director of the Asia-Pacific programme at Chatham House. Join Facebook to connect with Ben Bland and others you may know. Philippines in 2016 won a landmark legal ruling against Chinas "nine-dash line". It lags way behind countries such as South Korea, China, Singapore and Malaysia in terms of hospital places, critical care beds, doctors and money spent on health. 14. But to my mind, the clear message from Blands text is that optimists will be far more disappointed than the pessimists. A personal update: after three great years at @LowyInstitute, I'm leaving next month to take up a new role as director of the Asia-Pacific programme at Think about it from the perspective of a furniture exporter, he said. He is a partner at a newly-founded innovation practice, Loopers. Has Joko Widodos Power Peaked in Indonesi Ben Bland is Director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute. The FCDO should consider supporting universities, think-tanks and other groups that canhelp generate interest in, understanding of and contact with Southeast Asia. BenBlandis aformer Director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute. ), and just sounds absolutely terrible. / Twitter JavaScript is BBC Breakfast business correspondent Ben Boulos has announced a huge move in his broadcasting career after making his debut on the morning programme. The latest Lowy Poll shows the gaps in public understanding that bedevils the goal of closer bilateral relations. But their personalities, predilections and peccadillos are largely established well before they get to power. Ben Bland is a local internet celebrity who shows us how to make a grand and flowery dinner table decoration. Share this post. personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to He is a partner at a newly-founded innovation practice, Loopers. If the UK is to live up to the governments ambitions in the Indo-Pacific, the Foreign,Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) will need to enhance its engagement acrossthe region. Published daily by the The FCDO couldbenefit from the country experience, contacts and new ideas that outside experts bring,across a range of activities, from traditional diplomacy to trade and investment, anddevelopment cooperation. "Such a charmer Ben!" 4. Many of the values I try to live by are deeply rooted in both that faith and culture. As an adult, I feel proud of it and want to celebrate and highlight a part of my background that has such a big influence in shaping who I am.. This can be done through development cooperation with local NGOs but also throughfacilitating connections between Indonesian NGOs and their counterparts in the region andbeyond. Historically theUK has framed its Southeast Asian engagement around its former colonies: Malaysia,Singapore and Brunei. Jokowi, by contrast, disliked the formalities of diplomacy and public speaking. Indonesia, sadly, is littleknown in the UK. Ben's creative industry experience includes working with dozens of local startups, agencies and industry bodies. someone else chipped in. Jokowi, as the president is known, is a fascinating personality a man who leapt from being a furniture maker to city mayor (of Solo and Jakarta) and then on to lead Indonesia. 25. Athletic, trim, and ears that you just want to grab as he goes down on your thick, uncut Save. There is room to do more with Indonesia on security, both internal and external,coordinating with close UK partners like the US and Australia, which have extensiverelationships and cooperation programmes across the law enforcement, counter-terrorism,maritime and military domains. Ben Bland is a research fellow at the Lowy Institute and the author of Generation HK: Seeking Identity in Chinas Shadow and the forthcoming Man of Contradictions: Joko Widodo and the Struggle to Remake Indonesia. BBC Breakfast business correspondent Ben Boulos - best known for appearing alongside hosts like Naga Munchetty, Dan Walker and Sally Nugent - announced the news on social media, Sign up for the Daily Star TV newsletter for the biggest TV news. There are no quick and easy wins when it comes to engaging with ASEAN, which can belaborious and bureaucratic, like many other regional and multilateral organisations. He wrote: "Its been a while but due to huge, unprecedented, overwhelming public demand* Ill be back in the chair tomorrow (Friday) on @bbcnews channel/@bbctwo from 0900GMT & BBC World News from 1000GMT. 18. The bilateral trade and investment relationship is under-developed so thereshould be plenty of opportunities for growth. Rather, it should focus on specific issuesand geographic areas in order to make the most of finite diplomatic, development andmilitary resources. Stay updated on the topics you care about with email alerts. Officials from other south-east Asian nations have subsequently noted that, under Jokowis leadership, Indonesia has taken a less active role in regional forums. After emerging relatively unscathed from the first global wave of COVID-19, Southeast Asiais now bearing the brunt of the Delta variant. But, at the same time, he replaced Tom Lembong, an effective salesman for Indonesia in global financial markets, with a low-profile figure as the head of the investment promotion board. 27. Tom is over there, bending Jane's ear about 9. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Extract from Man of Contradictions: Joko Widodo and the Struggle to Remake Indonesia by Ben Bland, a Lowy Institute Paper published by Penguin Random House on 1 September 2020, RRP $12.99. The resignation of the ageing president last week shows the National League for Democracy needs leadership renewal. More importantly, he thought that, just as with democracy, foreign policy should be put to work to boost his overriding obsessions: the economy, infrastructure and his personal bank of political capital. Beyond traditional areas of civil society focus such as the environment, law reform, genderequality and media freedom, the UK should be more active in promoting digital rights anddigital literacy in Indonesia. The rotatingannual chair takes on much of the work of organising and setting the agenda for ministerialmeetings. Who is the Chinese group blamed for cyber attacks on the west? Delivered Thursday. He is the author of Man of Contradictions: Joko Widodo and the Struggle to Remake Indonesia and Generation HK: Seeking Identity in Chinas Shadow. An interesting regional precedent is set by the decision to stop the junta leader attending upcoming summit meetings. The former Department for International Development has a strong reputation in the regionand the merged FCDO should look to continue building on this. I was brought up in the Coptic Orthodox faith one of the oldest Christian denominations in the world and that link to my heritage continues to this day when I attend services that are conducted in a combination of English, Arabic and Coptic. The UK should consider setting up an annual 2+2 foreign and defence ministersmeeting with Indonesia, which could be rotated between London and Jakarta. While the pandemic has dented economic growth in Indonesia,the countrys medium-term prospects are robust. I am the author of two acclaimed books on Asian politics, the most recent being Man ofContradictions: Joko Widodo and the Struggle to Remake Indonesia (Penguin Random House,2020), the first English-language political biography of Indonesias president. For these reasons, andmore, the UK should make strengthened relations with Indonesia a priority. Ben Bland paints an insightful and intriguing portrait of Indonesia's leader in his new book, Man of Contradictions: Joko Widodo and the struggle to remake Indonesia. WebWe would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Jokowi pushed ahead, confident that his tough approach was popular at home. Indeed, rather than rising to the challenge Jokowi has struggled under the immense pressure. We are the Bent Ears! New resources should be concentrated in countries that are important but difficult tonavigate, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand. Why spend valuable diplomatic capital on a problem that did not affect Indonesia directly? The key to success is a dual strategy of bilateralengagement with Southeast Asian nations and multilateral engagement with ASEAN. In discussing it with my father, to make sure he would not be offended or upset by it, he reminded me that Bland itself was a chosen name. Bending over should not cause any ear pressure or pain. 33. FPs Winter 2023 print issue brings together 12 experts to help us answer those questions. Watch FPs Ravi Agrawal in conversation with two of the contributors to the magazines cover story, Anne-Marie Slaughter and retired Gen. David Petraeus, as they reflect on whats surprised themand how to prevent future wars. I regularly brief governments officials, parliamentarians and business executives in Australia,the UK, the US, Southeast Asia and beyond on issues related to the region. Hong Kong: is one country, two systems under threat? Stay informed with the latest commentary and analysis on international events from experts at the Lowy Institute and around the world. Governments, parliamentarians, businesses, universities andothers in both countries will have to work together to increase awareness about Indonesia inthe UK and foster a better mutual understanding. Securing Dialogue Partner statuswith the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) provides a great platform on whichto build these linkages. Weekly update on whats driving U.S. national security policy. He cheekily added: "(*creative licence may have been used in this description)". Man of Contradictions hits the shelves at last Jokowi needs a strategy, History repeating in Southeast Asia, and Why Hong Kong will fight on, National security in Hong Kong, panda shruggers vs panda sluggers in India, Malaysia goes after migrants (and the media), and ASEAN tries something new, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds", Welcome to Bundle of Contradictions by me, Ben Bland. Myanmars democratically elected government was ousted in a coupearlier this year. Extract from Man of Contradictions: Joko Widodo and the Struggle to Remake Indonesia by Ben Bland, a Lowy Institute Paper published by Penguin Random House on 1 September 2020, RRP $12.99. Securing ASEAN Dialogue Partner status is a great opportunity to build on the UKs existingstrengths as a partner for Southeast Asian nations. But as Bland quite rightly points out, Jokowi has no time for great power politics. Although he has taken Indonesia down a slightly more unilateral path, Jokowi is driven by instinct, whim and the winds of fortune. Jokowi did mention the need for "maritime diplomacy" and international co-operation to reduce the risk of conflict in the South China Sea and beyond. Sharing a snap of him sitting at a desk at BBC News, Ben was grinning at the camera while rifling through his notes, a glass of water prepared at his side. Luhut would become an ever more regular presence on Jokowis foreign trips. If Jokowi wants friends with benefits what economists would call mercantilism he has no real plan to win them over, beyond his personal charm and a rotating cast of supporting officials. It mostly consists of photographs of him glad-handing world leaders. He is more interested in attracting financial assistanceand China has not disappointed as it is now financing many infrastructure projects. Track 1.5dialogues, involving government officials and academic/think-tank experts, and Track 2dialogues, involving only the latter, are an important tool of informal diplomacy in the region. The presenter looked dapper as ever in a navy-blue suit with a purple tie and crisp white shirt. The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world. The FCDO should support more of these. Put Southeast Asia at the centre of the UKs Indo-Pacific Tilt. 2 global climate envoy, joined FP editor in chiefRavi Agrawal to discuss Washingtons climate policy, and how it is being seen around the world. The British government should focus on economic cooperation with Indonesia,people-to-people links and support for civil society. While ASEAN is often seen by outsiders as a forum for tackling geopolitical challenges,Southeast Asian governments are much more focused on domestic problems and howASEAN can help them resolve these. For Future Tuesdays Ben Bland presented his Future Screens NI Rewriting the Narrative funded project Neoco: Tools & Patterns for Progressive Operations. Please, and moving back to London after 14 years, The end of Fortress Australia?, a first birthday for Man of Contradictions, why writing is thinking, and the other love of my life, The UK's Indo-Pacific Tilt, mutual (mis)understanding between Australia and Indonesia, and what Franz Kafka tells us about Hong Kong's legal system, COVID-19 runs rampant in Indonesia, ASEAN's Rorschach test in Myanmar, the long struggle in Hong Kong and the women who changed war reporting, From a royal slipper thrown at Sir Francis Walsingham to Saddam Hussein's non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction, via Napoleon's love of OSINT and, The two faces of Indonesian democracy, Beijing's inevitable squeeze in Hong Kong, and the Washington method in Southeast Asia. The expansion of the Indonesian middleclass will offer many opportunities for British companies willing to navigate the sometimes complicated but often rewarding business scene in Indonesia. Done correctly, therefore,enhanced engagement with ASEAN, as an organisation, and Southeast Asian governments,in their own right, should be mutually reinforcing. But while this king of infrastructure has made progress in reducing Indonesia's massive infrastructure deficit, Bland argues that Indonesia is still riddled with heterodox economic thinking which defies the laws of economic competitiveness. WebBen Bland. Evening roundup with our editors favorite stories of the day. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. Ben Boulos nee Bland Anyone follow this 37 year old BBC News commentator. He previously spent a decade as a correspondent for the Financial Times in Asia, with postings in Jakarta, Hanoi, and Hong Kong. And by his second term, this outsider had become firmly embedded in elite politics. The West is desperate for new partners in Asia to help it push back against Xi Jinpings China. Nationalism and protectionism were already on the rise when COVID-19 shut down global supply chains. Overall, Jokowi, a one-time man of the people, is said to run the palace more as an imperial court than a chief executives office, and sees the military as a balancing force against his various political opponents. Bland quotes former Indonesian Finance Minister Chatib Basri, who once told him: Indonesia always disappoints. It took only a short while, however, for complaints to emerge. Published daily by the Lastly, the FCDO needs to do more to help build a broader community of experts engaged inSoutheast Asia. The occasional signs of assertion in the South China Sea and on other issues have not been matched by sustained efforts to work more closely with neighbours in pushing back against pressure from Beijing. Both the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong democracy movement are settling in for a long and painful struggle. Ben's creative industry experience includes working with dozens of local startups, agencies and industry More information on Neoco can be found here:https://neoco.io/, Ben Bland is a leader within the digital industries, spearheading developments in online marketing and e-commerce, digital strategy, and wider tech startup consulting & entrepreneurship. Sometimes he gels with his counterparts and ignores his formal talking points, and at other times he reads out speeches in robotic fashion. Biographers often try to paint psychological pictures of leaders based on their time in office. Fittingly, Jokowis ghostwritten autobiography contains only a short chapter on foreign policy. He has cancelled several foreign trips at late notice because of domestic political difficulties and, when he does go overseas, he can be a temperamental traveller. Jokowi, as the president is known, is a fascinating personality a man who leapt from being a furniture maker to city mayor (of Solo and Jakarta) and then on to lead Indonesia. Webbend someone's ear. Delivered Monday-Friday. As China escalated its struggle with its south-east Asian neighbours for control of the regions rich fishing grounds and reserves of oil and gas, there were some initial signs that Jokowi would take a more resolute stance. Essential analysis of the stories shaping geopolitics on the continent. | View Comments (). FPs Ravi Agrawal sat down with industry leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss how businesses can build resilience amid a turbulent geopolitical era. Lowy Institute. The UK has a broadlypositive reputation in Indonesia, which is a good starting point. The panelists included Anne Richards, CEO of Fidelity International; Carmine Di Sibio, CEO of Ernst & Young; Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Umicore; and Lubna S. Olayan, chair of the executive committee of Olayan Financing Company. "When I put it like that, he got it," the aide said, baffled but charmed at the same time. Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand are embroiled in long-runningand sometimes violent conflicts with separatist groups. At times, he has demonstrated a steeliness that took outsiders by surprise. The UK, therefore, needsto leverage its existing capital if it is to keep pace with rivals and, hopefully, become a moreimportant partner for the region. Australia needs to have a much better understanding of these limits, and learn to cooperate more effectively and realistically with its important neighbour. 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