1) Amien Rais Calls for Freeport`s Closure, Luhut: Not Easy

2) Indonesia-Australia commanders meet up to intensify defense cooperation

--------------------------------------

1) Amien Rais Calls for Freeport`s Closure, Luhut: Not Easy

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has asked Amien Rais, a former speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), to desist from making any statement demanding the closure of Freeport Indonesia. 

"See it first, it’s not that easy to close it,” said Luhut in Wisma Hijau, Depok, Friday, July 27.

Amien argued that Freeport had committed an environmental crime, thus he was against the extension of its contract and demanded the mine be shut for good. 

Luhut said the government would deal with the problems, including violations that Freeport could have committed. 

Luhut explained the government could not revise the rules or agreements that were made decades ago. “If we look for the mistakes then we will also look for past mistakes, it should not be like that,” he said.

Previously, on July 12, Freeport McMoran Inc. agreed on the release of 51-percent shares of its subsidiary, PT Freeport Indonesia, to Holding Mining Industry PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (Persero) or Inalum. The holding company will complete the purchase in the next two months.

PT Inalum president director Budi Gunawan Sadikin said the transaction value amounted to US$3,85 billion. Inalum will spend US$3,5 billion on purchasing 40 percent of Rio Tinto’s participation rights in PT Freeport Indonesia.

-----------------------

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/07/28/indonesia-australia-commanders-meet-up-to-intensify-defense-cooperation.html

2) Indonesia-Australia commanders meet up to intensify defense cooperation

Dian Septiari

Jakarta | Sat, July 28, 2018 | 01:15 pm

Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto met his Australian counterpart Gen.Angus Campbell on Friday during the sixth annual Australia-Indonesia High Level Committee meeting in Darwin, Australia.

In their first encounter since assuming their roles, Hadi and Campbell agreed to an extensive program of navy, army and air force joint exercises and engagement activities for 2019 and 2020 period.

They also recognized that people-to-people ties were critical to developing a strong and mutually beneficial relationship and agreed to establish a regular program of contacts and exchange visits between young officers.

“We emphasized the importance of increasing the complexity of bilateral military exercises, enhancing information sharing and growing practical maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean,” Hadi and Campbell said in a joint statement on Friday.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Indonesian and Australian special forces cooperation.

Following the meeting, the two chiefs signed a joint letter of endorsement for the Indonesian Australian Defense Alumni Association (Ikahan), which plays an essential role in deepening people-to-people links between the two defense forces.

The two chiefs noted the participation of Indonesia’s Air Force F-16 aircraft in Exercise Pitch Black as one of the many examples of Australian-Indonesian Defense cooperation.

Hadi also visited Australian Defense facilities hosting the US Force Posture Initiatives (US FPI), where he talked with Australian and United States officials about the important contributions the US FPI makes to security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (dmr)

----------------------------