Posted on 07/01/2020 7:39:29 AM PDT by Ozguy1945
The Republic Of Indonesia is a profoundly religious country frequently underestimated and maligned in the West.
It is a multiparty democracy with a strong commitment to freedom.
This commitment is best symbolised by the way the country stops every 17th August to remember its birth in 1945 when Japanese power collapsed at the end of World War Two.
My dad was there then in the field ambulance of the Australian 2nd 14th Battalion implementing Douglas MacArthur’s operation Oboe. Dad saw his friends die under Japanese fire on the beach of Balikpapan. He never forgot it and dedicated the rest of his life to education with a particular focus on the history and politics of the English speaking world.
MacArthur himself said “Men since the beginning of time have sought peace.”
In this spirit my Indonesian friend Aspar Paturusi and I have created the following Declaration Of Peace.
No one knows for sure if China will continue to primarily make its way in the world through trade or become a more aggressive power.
Many are worried. Including the Indonesians. Lest We Forget: the Indonesians are our friends.
Largest Muslim population. Won’t like the Chinese much. But they haven’t shown much affinity for the Christian west either, afaik. Maybe an alliance of convenience with Oz since they share a part of the world. We’ll see.
Years ago, I contracted with another oil exploration company for a tanker load of drilling fluid to be delivered to Balikpapan.
The port office demanded a 100 percent bribe in American dollars before allowing the cargo to unload.
There will be resistance to China as it expands its political, economic and military interests beyond its borders. Thus far there is no comprehensive pact among the disparate nations that for cultural and religious reasons do not accept the dominance of the “Middle Kingdom”. IMHO Taiwan is at the greatest risk for overt Chinese aggression. Yet it is not clear that China can absorb the political cost of losing many of their “only son” soldiers in a bloody campaign. It is also not clear if Taiwan will actually fight to preserve its freedom or will come to accept voluntarily peaceful reunification with the mainland. The people of Taiwan know they will be alone if it comes to a fight. The majority may not have the stomach to make the sacrifice of resisting China.
Profoundly Islamic country, which is incompatible with freedom.
Dr. Sivana. you have a good memory. There were riots over something anti-muslim. salman Rushdie’s book i do believe.
In a nutshell, that's doing business in Indonesia. Always had to keep such dealings one or two steps away through distributors in Singapore. We left it to our partners there to deal with the endemic corruption.
They are Muslim, thus not our friends unless we submit or convert.
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