20/05/2026

WEDNESDAY | MAY 20, 2026

7

Xi hosts ‘old friend’ Putin

BEIJING: President Xi Jinping hosts his “old friend” Vladimir Putin less than a week after Donald Trump’s high-profile visit, as Beijing seeks to project itself as a stable and predictable power in a world shaken by trade tensions, wars and an energy crisis. China and Russia have cast Putin’s two-day trip this week, his 25th visit to China, as further evidence of their “all-weather” partnership, even as the West urges Beijing to pressure Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine. While China presents itself as a peace mediator in the conflict and a neutral party, Putin says China and Russia support each other’s “core interests” as he pursues additional energy deals with the world’s second largest economy in the face of Western sanctions. “The Xi-Putin summit telegraphs to the world that the China-Russia

government, said an Amnesty press statement. “In the 18 months since Prabowo took power, online disinformation has emerged as a key tactic to systematically discredit government critics, shut down public debate and justify repression,” it said. And this while “social media companies sit back and let it happen”. AFP has requested comment from the government and tech companies, but they still have to review the report. In replies published in the Amnesty report, TikTok insisted it was working with “global safety partners” on content moderation, while Meta said it continued to update its annual human rights reporting. Meta and TikTok pay AFP to fact check posts with potentially false information. Amnesty regional researcher Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong said the report identified state actors involved in spreading false “foreign agent” claims, including members of Prabowo’s Gerindra party and at least one member of the presidential staff. “Under international human rights law, the government has an obligation to refrain from spreading disinformation, to prevent state actors from doing so, and to stop and address such campaigns when they occur,” Chanatip said. “That failure to uphold the human rights of those targeted with these disinformation campaigns is what we are holding the government responsible for.” – AFP said the two countries had established a major defence cooperation partnership and listed a number of ways in which they would build defence ties. Sjafrie said the partnership includes the modernisation of Indonesia’s military, but “it does not mention any military equipment”. He said the US would help train Indonesian soldiers. – Reuters strictly controls exports of dual-use items. China remains the largest buyer of Russian oil, including pipeline supplies and sea-borne shipments. Despite Western sanctions on Russia’s oil exports, Chinese independent refiners are regular customers, with transactions settled largely in Chinese yuan. State oil refiners also recently resumed purchases following a brief US sanction waiver. “In principle, we have reached a high degree of consensus regarding the taking of a serious, indeed, very substantial, step forward in our cooperation within the oil and gas sectors,” Putin told reporters on May 9. – Reuters

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s government is taking an “authoritarian” turn under President Prabowo Subianto, allowing disinformation to discredit critics and justify repression, Amnesty International said yesterday. In a report titled Building up Imaginary Enemies , the rights watchdog highlighted a trend of branding critics “foreign agents”. One of them, human rights activist Andrie Yunus, became the victim in March of an acid attack that left him blind in one eye. Andrie, 27, has been a vocal critic of what many perceive as the military’s expanding role in government, and was attacked shortly after recording a podcast on the topic. Amnesty said its investigations found “a growing pattern in which authorities, including the military, deploy online disinformation to target journalists, activists, academics and protesters in retaliation for their legitimate activism and expression”. It also alleged tech companies Meta, TikTok, X and YouTube “have allowed harmful disinformation to remain online”. The report said Prabowo and senior officials have repeatedly accused critics of being paid, manipulated or controlled by foreign interests, claims then amplified on social media with posts branding people “foreign agents”. Online slurs sometimes preceded violent attacks such as the one on Andrie, said Amnesty in its report. “Authoritarian practices have accelerated under Prabowo’s reasons when he asked for the access, Sjafrie said without providing further details. A request for comment was sent to the Pentagon. There was no immediate reply, and when the request was sent from Jakarta it was early morning Washington time and outside business hours. After Hegseth and Sjafrie met in Washington last month, the Pentagon countries such as Russia also reinforces its message that its diplomacy is consistent and not swayed by the actions of strategic partners, despite Western pressure. “It’s unrealistic to expect Xi to put pressure on Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Xi doesn’t wield that kind of influence over Putin and in any case the Chinese understand how a defeat for Russia in Ukraine would weaken Putin’s political standing,” said Storey. “As such, Beijing will continue to provide Moscow with diplomatic cover at the UN, economic assistance and dual-use technologies for Russia’s armed forces,” he said. China says it has never provided lethal weapons to either side of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and that it

o Leaders seek closer energy cooperation

is seeking to strengthen its image as a pillar of global stability, in contrast to US struggles to end the war in Ukraine and contain a separate conflict with Iran that has disrupted energy flows. During state visits, Beijing tries to reassure Western trading partners, including the US, about its rise as an economic and technological power while downplaying risks in their ties. The White House said after Trump’s visit that a consensus had been reached on issues that will enhance “stability” for businesses and consumers. China’s engagement with

strategic partnership remains the cornerstone of both countries’ foreign policies and that any attempt by the US to drive a wedge between them is destined to fail,” said Ian Storey, principal fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. The visit follows Trump’s trip last week, which generated positive optics but few major commercial agreements. Xi described Sino-US ties as a relationship of “strategic stability”, challenging the “strategic competition” framework associated with former president Joe Biden. By hosting foreign leaders, China

Indonesian govt critics targeted, says Amnesty

PASSING THROUGH ... USS Boxe r, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship carrying Osprey aircraft, passing the Serangoon harbour into Johor Strait in northeastern Singapore yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Activist defends advocacy at HK trial HONG KONG: An activist told a court here yesterday that she “totally embraced” actions the prosecution deemed crimes, as closing arguments in her national security trial entered their second day. following year and have been behind bars since. Chow, a Cambridge

protects,” she said.

In their closing arguments on Monday, prosecutors accused Chow and Lee of “endangering national security in the name of human rights”, adding that freedom of speech and association are “not absolute rights”.

educated barrister who is representing herself, smiled widely at supporters in the gallery as she entered the courtroom. Standing in front of a three-judge panel, she said it

Chow Hang-tung (pic) , 41, is standing trial for “incitement to subversion” along with her former colleague Lee Cheuk-yan, 69. They face years behind bars if convicted. The pair were leaders of the now defunct Hong Kong Alliance, a group that used to organise candlelight vigils to mark China’s 1989 crackdown on demonstrators in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Beijing imposed a national security law on the financial hub in 2020, and the Alliance’s leaders were charged the

The Foreign Ministry warned the Defence Ministry that the proposal to give the US military ‘blanket’ permission to fly over Indonesian territory could risk entangling Jakarta in potential South China Sea conflicts, Reuters reported. Sjafrie said Hegseth had made the request for the overflight access last year during an Asean meeting. Hegseth had cited emergency Chow said the Chinese constitution “exists to restrain those in power, not to restrain ordinary people”. “The constitution itself is a tool ... to put an end to various forms of autocracy,” she said, adding that the prosecution’s allegations that the group incited people to contravene the constitution were “completely absurd”. – AFP

agreed to airspace access, and respect for local laws, Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told a parliamentary hearing. “We made not a single commitment with the US on airspace. We uphold the constitution and our national interests,” Sjafrie said. The issue of overflight access created controversy in Indonesia last month. was a “weird” criminal case because the defendants did not dispute the facts. “The defendants fully embraced the actions that the prosecution alleged to be crimes,” Chow told the court, adding that their efforts were an expression of their beliefs. “What is really at dispute is what the law suppresses and what it

Defence minister clarifies letter granting US military aircraft overflight access JAKARTA: Indonesia’s defence

minister said yesterday that he had signed a letter of intent last month with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on granting US military aircraft access to Indonesian airspace, but said no commitment was made. The letter of intent signed in Washington mentioned respecting each country’s territorial integrity, the need for a mechanism if Indonesia