Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for a de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine during a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Jakarta, warning that a conflict threatens security and would be disruptive to the world’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is not the time for rivalry, nor is it the time to create new tensions that disrupt the world’s recovery, let alone endanger the safety of the world, as is happening in Ukraine today,” he said. “All parties must stop the rivalry and tension, we must focus on synergizing, collaborating to save and resurrect the world to quickly rise and recover.”
The remarks from the leader of Southeast Asia’s largest economy echoed concerns that an invasion of Ukraine would have far-reaching consequences.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Kiev’s Western allies say Russia has massed as many as 150,000 troops on its borders in a possible precursor to an attack and are voicing reservations about announcements from the Kremlin that it is withdrawing some forces.
“All countries are connected to each other, no one is isolated,” Widodo said. “The rise of one region will revive another region; the collapse of one region will also bring down other regions.”
Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and supports separatists in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, has said it has no plans to invade.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear that the order had been given only for a “partial” pullback and suggested that a full return to base would depend on how talks with the West go.
Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the situation was “deeply concerning” and it was in the collective interest that these tensions are resolved.
“We call upon Russia to de-escalate the situation for the alternative would be disastrous in human and economic terms,” he told the G20 conference.
The G20 consists of the EU and 19 countries with the biggest industrialized and emerging economies.
Washington, which last week released a strategy for the Indo-Pacific region as a means to counter China’s growing influence, is concerned Beijing would try to take advantage of the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
“We stand for a world and a vision grounded in problem solving and innovation, not coercion and aggression,” US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said during a briefing yesterday.
“I think it stands in stark contrast to the vision of others, including that put forward by” Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), he added.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
RSS