Indonesia passes bill on sexual violence
On 12 April 2022, the Indonesian parliament passed the long-awaited sexual violence bill. The bill aims at providing a legal framework to help victims obtain justice for any form of sexual violence including physical and verbal harassment and exploitation.
The new bill acknowledges that men and children could also be victims of rape which is significant given that the Indonesian criminal code only recognised rape as an unlawful act committed by men on women. Moreover, this new bill recognizes nine forms of sexual violence such as physical and non-physical violence or harassment, forced contraception and sterilisation, forced marriage, sexual harassment, torture, abuse, exploitation, and cyber sexual molestation.
Many welcomed the passing of this bill hoping it would solve and reduce rising sexual crimes in Indonesia, where at least 6000 sexual harassment cases have been filed since 2018. Others, however, remain concerned about the effectiveness of implementation while some even objected to the bill because they believed it should extend to criminalize extramarital sex and LGBT relationships.
The bill remains a significant legislative step forward in Indonesia. Many are now keeping a close eye on the effectiveness of the implementation processes of this bill.
Japan’s Prime Minister to visit South East Asia at the end of April
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to visit Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam in the last quarter of April during Japan’s Golden Week to promote bilateral cooperation and to discuss China, the Ukraine Crisis, and Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy.
During the visit, PM Kishida will meet with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to promote their diplomatic relations especially as Thailand is the current Chair of APEC. Similarly, PM Kishida’s visit to Indonesia comes at the time when the country is preparing to host the G20 summit in November 2022. Vietnam shares common maritime security interests with Japan as Vietnam is a claimant state in the South China Sea dispute.
After South East Asia, the Japanese Prime Minister also plans to visit Europe to discuss the approach toward the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many observers believe that the PM’s visit to South East Asia and then Europe is not only a way to build cooperation, but also to narrow the gap in perspective regarding the Ukraine Crisis and China’s rising assertiveness between the West and South East Asia.
Fundamentally, the visit reveals the ambition of Japan to strengthen its engagement with South East Asia so as to protect and expand its influence in the region.
The US – ASEAN Summit to be held in early May 2022
After its postponement in late March, ASEAN and the US will hold a special summit to commemorate the 45th year of Dialogue Relations on May 12 and 13, in the United States.
The Summit will enable President Biden and ASEAN leaders to meet, strengthen their cooperation, and discuss various issues ranging from the COVID-19, climate and health-related issues, security, and economic development between the United States and ASEAN. The summit will also reconfirm Biden’s pledge to provide over 100 million USD to the region to deal with the current pandemic, climate challenges, economic recovery, gender equality, and connectivity.
Some believe that the summit would be crucial for the US to balance China’s rising assertiveness in the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific region. The summit would serve as evidence that both ASEAN and the US are willing to strengthen and enhance cooperation in the political, security, and economic domains. Some even view the summit as a signal of the US’ eagerness to maintain its engagement with the region.
Myanmar’s military regime will most likely be banned from the summit due to their unsettled domestic issue. Nonetheless, the summit does demonstrate some US commitment to the region under the Biden Administration which may prove significant in the long run.
Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister arrested for COVID-19 pandemic flight bribery
On 14 April 2022, the Vietnamese authority arrested its own Deputy Foreign Minister, To Anh Dung, over accepting bribes to secure COVID-19 repatriation flights with an employee from the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and a former officer from the Ministry of Public Security.
During the high peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam arranged for almost 800 flights to repatriate its citizens from 60 countries back into Vietnam. The policy had to manage complicated taxes, airfares, and quarantine fee processes. The three ministry officials were accused of accepting bribes from Vietnamese citizens in foreign countries that planned to come back to Vietnam by the “repatriation flights” when no air travel was allowed in 2020. The three ministers’ houses and workplaces were searched by officials for further information but have not been publicly released.
The public have endorsed the arrest, arguing that the ministers should be heavily punished for their actions. The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is yet to comment on the allegations.
The arrests signify the country’s strong response toward corruption and the public’s support for a strong stance against corruption in government.
Sovinda Po is a Research Assistant at the Griffith Asia Institute.
