Building an equal partnership of mutual respect

The Jakarta Post, Retno LP Marsudi, Foreign Minister of Indonesia, Jakarta,March 11, 2020

President Joko Widodo (right) accompanied by First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo (second left)
and Dutch King Willem Alexander (second right) accompanied by Queen Maxima planting
trees during a state visit to Bogor Palace, West Java, Tuesday (10/3/2020). (Antara/
Sigid Kurniawan)

“The ongoing global economic and geopolitical volatility will not keep Indonesia and the Netherlands from advancing their long-standing cooperation” — that may be the right tone to begin the narrative on the state visit of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima to Indonesia.

On Tuesday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo greeted the Dutch king and queen at Bogor Palace in West Java.

The visit sends the clear message that the two countries aspire to advance their ties going forward. It will surely create a new momentum for the Indonesian-Dutch partnership. The visit also instils not only increased confidence of Dutch investment in Indonesia but also strategic trust in the long run.

The visit produces numerous concrete deliverables in various sectors at the government-to-government as well as the business-to-business level. These include eight government initiatives in important sectors such as sustainable palm oil production, cooperation on infectious diseases control, waste management, the circular economy, water management, aviation cooperation, capacity-building of healthcare professionals, as well as women, peace and security.

On the business side, the king’s 190-strong business delegation has met with hundreds of Indonesian business counterparts and concluded investment and business deals amounting to US$1 billion. These include agreements on dairy products, oil and gas, agriculture, infrastructure and renewable energy.

However, these achievements did not come overnight. In fact, in the last seven decades, both sides have taken significant steps to strengthen bilateral ties.

I was the Indonesian ambassador in The Hague in 2013, when Indonesia and the Netherlands signed a joint declaration on a comprehensive partnership that laid out the modalities for concrete cooperation. This was an important building block to mature our bilateral cooperation into what we have today and what we will harvest tomorrow.

After more than 70 years, it is undeniable that the bond between the two countries has had its share of challenges. While we cannot deny the past of Indonesia-Netherlands relations, we can choose to fully capitalize on the potential of future cooperation for the benefit of both nations.

Read also: A time to remember

Therefore, the goal for our shared future must be clear, which is pursuing a forward-looking partnership that really benefits both countries and peoples.

There are three things that the two countries should advance together to attain common goals for a solid and mutually beneficial partnership.

First and fundamentally, both countries must remain committed to the common values of mutual respect and principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Second, the Indonesian-Dutch partnership must produce long-term and concrete economic benefits for our two peoples.

The Netherlands is and should continue to be Indonesia’s strategic partner for trade and investment. In 2019, the Netherlands was Indonesia’s largest investment partner in the European region, the second-largest trading partner and the fourth-largest tourism partner.

Our political solidarity in furthering the common cause of sustainability is also strong. In promoting sustainable palm oil in Europe, for instance, it is evident that we can rely on the Netherlands as our friend. Last year, together with my colleague, Sigrid Kaag, the Dutch minister for foreign trade and cooperation development, we signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on joint production of sustainable palm oil in New York, the United States. King Willem-Alexander’s current visit has also brought an impetus toward the progression of sustainable production of palm oil through the conclusion of a technical arrangement that will focus on capacity-building for Indonesian smallholder farmers.

This is a good reflection of how trust is an important pillar of bilateral cooperation, as also exemplified through the Netherlands’ support in the establishment of the Indonesia-European Union Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade in 2016.

Third, Indonesia and the Netherlands must continue to promote the universal common values of multilateralism, diplomacy and democracy, promoting habits of dialogue and peaceful dispute settlement to tackle shared global challenges amid rising tensions, intolerance and unilateralism.

Peacekeeping and counterterrorism are among our signature areas of collaboration on the world stage.

Indonesia and the Netherlands were among the core countries facilitating and supporting the Untied Nations' secretary-general’s Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative to rally member states and other crucial stakeholders to fulfil their obligation in strengthening UN peacekeeping operations.

Both nations also need to stand shoulder to shoulder in the global fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

Deepening the promotion of democracy, pluralism and tolerance are other important areas of cooperation to further develop. The Bali Democracy Forum could become the platform to jointly advance these shared values.

Women, peace and security shall be another hallmark of our bilateral cooperation. The partnership aspires to deepen the capacity of women to promote peace and security, in line with the formation of the ASEAN Women Mediators Network and the Afghanistan-Indonesia Women Network last March.

Read also: King Willem-Alexander, please recognize Indonesia’s Independence Day

In conclusion, another historical step was taken with the king of the Netherlands’ visit to Indonesia, in the very year when Indonesia celebrates its 75th year of independence.

The history binding our two countries together is not an easy one. This dark period should not be repeated in the future.

King Alexander stated that “today, we warmly congratulate the people of Indonesia as you celebrate 75 years of independence. The past cannot be erased and will have to be acknowledged by each generation in turn.” King Alexander also expressed his regret and apologized for excessive violence on the part of the Dutch in those years.

Let us together build a better and stronger relationship, one that is based on mutual respect and mutual interests.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.

King Willem-Alexander and Indonesian president Joko Widodo. Photo: AP Photo/
Achmad Ibrahim, Pool 

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Dutch King Returns Prince Diponegoro's Golden Kris to Jokowi

From left, Dutch Queen Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, Dutch King Willem-Alexander, 

President Joko Widodo and Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim observe 

Prince Diponegoro's golden kris at the Bogor Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday. 

(Antara Photo/Sigid Kurniawan)

Dutch King Returns Prince Diponegoro's Golden Kris to Jokowi

Jakarta Globe, 10 March 2020

From left, Dutch Queen Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, Dutch King Willem-Alexander, 

President Joko Widodo and Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim observe 

Prince Diponegoro's golden kris at the Bogor Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday. 

(Antara Photo/Sigid Kurniawan)

Jakarta. After nearly two centuries, a golden kris belonging to Indonesia's national hero Prince Diponegoro was returned by the Dutch King Willem-Alexander, here on a three-day state visit with Queen Máxima and a 130-strong delegation, to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the Bogor Palace on Tuesday.

The golden kris was placed in a glass box not far from the podium where President Jokowi and King Willem-Alexander held a joint press statement.

Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim was seen explaining how the golden kris came into Dutch hands to the President and the King.

The Dutch government had returned several of Prince Diponegoro's belongings in 1968, but the golden kris was not included. 

The kris was reportedly lost but was later found at the Volkenkunde Museum in Leiden.

A team of Dutch and Indonesian researchers has confirmed the authenticity of the golden kris.

Prince Diponegoro was a Javanese royal, the eldest son of Sultan Hamengkubuwono III of Yogyakarta, who led a crusade against Dutch colonial rule in the 1825-1830 Java War.

The war, in which 200,000 people died including 8,000 Dutch, ended with the prince's capture on March 28, 1830.

His famous golden kris was seized by the Dutch government during his famous capture when he was tricked into a fake negotiation – the subject of one of Indonesian painter Raden Saleh's most well-known paintings.

Colonel Jan-Baptist Cleerens gave Prince Diponegoro's golden kris as a gift to King Willem I in 1831.

Apart from returning the heirloom to Indonesia, the Dutch royal visit is intended to increase bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

"This is an excellent opportunity to work together for a future relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands," King Willem-Alexander said.

Dutch monarch offers apology for past ‘excessive violence’

The Jakarta Post, Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, March 10, 2020

Dutch King Willem-Alexander (second right) and Queen Maxima (right) return after
laying a wreath during their visit to the Heroes Cemetery in Jakarta on March 10.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands are on a five-day
visit to Indonesia, a former Dutch colony. ( AFP/BAY ISMOYO)

Dutch King Willem-Alexander has offered an apology over "excessive violence" suffered by Indonesians during the early years of Indonesian independence, acknowledging the period as a "painful separation".

The statement was conveyed by the king after he and Queen Maxima were hosted by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in an official ceremony at the Bogor Palace in West Java on Tuesday.

"In line with earlier statements by my government, I would like to express my regret and apologies for the excessive violence on the part of the Dutch in those years," Willem said during a joint press statement on Tuesday.

"And I do so in the full realization that the pain and sorrow of the families affected continue to be felt today."

Willem's statement reversed previous Dutch monarchs’ stance of refusing to apologize for the nation’s past war crimes in the country. During the last state visit by a Dutch monarch in 1995, Queen Beatrix was prevented by then-prime minister Wim Kok from offering an apology, saying the Netherlands was not ready.

Indonesia declared independence on Aug. 17, 1945, but the Dutch only recognized its sovereignty on Dec. 27, 1949.

The Dutch government had apologized several times for its colonial troops’ war crimes conducted between 1945 and 1949 in Indonesia.

In 2013, then-Dutch ambassador to Indonesia Tjeerd de Zwaan addressed an apology to 10 widows of men who were summarily executed in a series of mass killings in South Sulawesi between December 1946 and February 1947 during military operations by Dutch troops under Raymond Pierre Paul Westerling.

The king’s four-day state visit kicked off on Tuesday. It went ahead despite the recent announcement of 19 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia.

The Dutch king also expressed his desire to see a stronger tie between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

"Indonesia has a long tradition of religious tolerance and can play a constructive part in this respect. It's important to continue working together to foster peace, justice and the protection of minorities based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity," King Willem-Alexander said.

"And we are keen to work together with you toward this end."

Speaking before Willem, Jokowi emphasized the need for the two countries to forge ahead in a relationship of mutual respect.

"Of course, we cannot erase the history, but we can learn from the past. It serves as a lesson for our commitment to grow a relationship that is equal and with mutual respect and mutually-beneficial," the President said.

Celebrations at Uluru after climbers permanently banned

Yahoo – AFP, October 27, 2019

The ban on climbing Uluru had long been sought by the traditional owners of
the land, the Anangu, whose connection to the site dates back tens of thousands
of years (AFP Photo/Saeed KHAN)

Uluru (Australia) (AFP) - Indigenous Australians performed songs and traditional dance as the sun set over Uluru on Sunday, capping a weekend of celebrations to mark the historic ban on climbing the sacred site.

The ceremony was held two days after a final surge of tourists who had flocked to central Australia scaled the giant red monolith before its closure to climbers.

A crowd gathered late Friday at the base of the site to watch rangers erect the "permanently closed" sign, in line with the long-held wishes of indigenous Australians.

"No more climbing today," shouted indigenous elder Nelly Patterson. "Close it," she yelled to a loud cheer from the crowd.

Previously known as Ayers Rock, the site was officially returned to the Anangu

in 1985 (AFP Photo/Saeed KHAN)

The ban, first announced in 2017, had long been sought by the traditional owners of the land, the Anangu, whose connection to the site dates back tens of thousands of years.

As well as respecting cultural practices, the ban is designed to protect the site from further environmental damage and ensure visitors' safety.

"We are all very happy, as traditional owners, that the climb is closed now, after a long fight from handback to today," Reggie Uluru told reporters through an interpreter on Saturday.

Previously known as Ayers Rock, the site was officially returned to the Anangu in 1985.

Signs at its base had implored visitors not to climb it, but they were regularly ignored by some, especially in recent months as thousands made last-minute ascents.

Tourists are still being encouraged to visit the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park where

 they can view the monolith from its base, walk around its perimeter and learn about 

its indigenous heritage (AFP Photo/Saeed KHAN)

"I think it is important that mother nature has a bit of a break," the last climber at Uluru, James Martin, said.

"I would like to say to the Aboriginals that we are sorry and the world does indeed belong to every single person who was born on the planet," the Australian told reporters as he came off the rock at sunset on Friday.

Parks Australia added extra rangers on patrol over the weekend, with fines for those who attempt to summit the rock now reaching up to Aus$10,000 ($6,800).

The ceremony was held two days after a final surge of tourists who had flocked

to central Australia scaled the giant red monolith before its closure to climbers 

(AFP Photo/Saeed KHAN)

"Although we expect our visitors to respect the law and the wishes of traditional owners when they visit, significant penalties can be issued," Parks Australia told national broadcaster ABC.

Work is expected to begin next week to remove a chain that was used by climbers to make the steep ascent.

Tourists are still being encouraged to visit the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park where they can view the monolith from its base, walk around its perimeter and learn about its indigenous heritage at the cultural centre.

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Uluru closed to climbers after crowds make final ascent
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Uluru closed to climbers after crowds make final ascent

Yahoo – AFP, 25 October 2019

The permanent ban on climbing Uluru was first announced in 2017

Australia's Uluru was permanently closed to climbers Friday evening to meet the wishes of Aboriginal people who hold the red monolith sacred, but hundreds of tourists scaled it in the final hours before the ban.

With the last-ever climbers due back by sunset, rangers shut the entry gates to the world-famous site also known as Ayers Rock.

The ban, first announced in 2017, had long been sought by the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land, the Anangu, whose connection to the site dates back tens of thousands of years.

There were already signs at the base of the rock imploring visitors not to climb it, but these were not often heeded, especially in recent months as a surge of tourists made last-minute ascents.

"I came here just to see it but it is the last day possible (to climb Uluru), so I have decided to try it," Polish tourist Matt Oswiecimiki told AFP.

For years there have been signs at the base of the rock imploring visitors not 

to climb, but they were not often heeded

The 29-year-old said it was "fair to stop it" tomorrow out of respect for the Anangu, but said the one-time opportunity meant he would still climb it given he was allowed to on Friday.

Tourists are still being encouraged to visit the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park where they can take in the monolith from its base, walk around its perimeter and learn about its indigenous heritage at the cultural centre.

"It's enough for me to walk around and see the rock," Japanese tourist Masahira Suda said.

The 25-year-old said he did not judge fellow tourists for scaling Uluru but he was refraining at the request of the Aboriginal custodians.

"I really have respect for them," he said.

The climbing ban has been long-sought by Aboriginal 

Australians

Spiritual significance

More than 395,000 people visited the park in the 12 months to June 2019, according to Parks Australia -- about 20 percent more than the previous year.

Around 13 percent of those who visited during that period made the climb, park authorities said.

Uluru has great spiritual and cultural significance to indigenous Australians, and the Anangu people will hold a ceremony Saturday to mark the climbing ban.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt likened the recent increase in tourists climbing Uluru to "a rush of people wanting to climb over the Australian War Memorial".

"Our sacred objects, community by community, are absolutely important in the story and the history of that nation of people," he told national broadcaster ABC.

More than 395,000 people visited the Uluru-Kata National Park in the 

12 months to June 2019, according to Parks Australia

Traditional owners have long encouraged people to refrain from climbing the site for its cultural significance, to protect it from further environmental damage and to ensure visitors' safety.

Tackling Uluru's sandstone slopes has not been an easy exercise, and at least 35 people have died attempting the climb.

It towers some 348 meters (1,148 feet) and summer temperatures often hit 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).

Saturday marks 34 years since that the park's title was handed back to the traditional owners.

Traditional owners and National Park representatives have decided to ban the
 climbing of Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, from October 2019 amid fears it
was being treated as a 'theme park' (AFP Photo/Greg Wood)

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These time capsules need to be on the planet as a guide or blueprint for the starting creative energy of Gaia [the Creation Template]. Kryon has told us: that as the time capsules are slowly released, they modify The Crystalline Grid to help Human consciousness shift, and eventually create an ascended planet.  (Text version he Fast-Track Systems")

Australia marks 30 years since Uluru returned to Aboriginal owners

Gaia Global Consciousness Retreat (8) - Mar 24-25, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

Australian Aboriginal site gains World Heritage recognition

Yahoo – AFP, July 7, 2019

UNESCO has added the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in Australia to its World
Heritage list (AFP Photo/MIGUEL MEDINA)

An Aboriginal settlement older than the pyramids that provides evidence that indigenous Australians developed sophisticated aquaculture thousands of years ago has been granted World Heritage status, the UN has announced.

The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in southeast Australia was created by the Gunditjmara nation some 6,600 years ago and includes remnants of elaborate stone channels and pools built to harvest eels from a lake and wetland swamp areas.

The site also holds evidence of stone dwellings that counter the myth that Aboriginal peoples were simply nomadic hunter-gatherers with no established settlements or sophisticated means of food production.

UNESCO's World Heritage committee, in announcing the addition of Budj Bim to its global listing on Saturday, said the site showed the Gunditjmara had developed "one of the largest and oldest aquaculture networks in the world."

The system of stone channels, dams and pools were used to contain floodwaters and create basins to trap, store and harvest eels that provided the population with "an economic and social base for six millennia", it said.

Budj Bim, in Victoria state, is the first site in Australia to receive World Heritage status solely for its Aboriginal cultural importance.

Nineteen other World Heritage sites in the country include the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu National Park, the Sydney Opera house and fossil sites in the states of Queensland and South Australia.

The Gunditjmara people had lobbied for nearly 20 years for UN recognition of Budj Bim, and tribal elder Denise Lovett welcomed the listing as "a very special day for our community".

"This landscape, which we have cared for over thousands of years, is so important to Gunditjmara People," she told national broadcaster SBS.

"The decision also recognises Budj Bim's significance to all of humanity. We are so proud to now be able to share our achievements and story with the world."

Archaeological evidence shows that Aboriginal peoples have lived in Australia for more than 60,000 years, making it one of the oldest continuous cultures in the world.

But since the arrival of European colonists in the late 18th century, the indigenous population saw most of its land taken for farming or livestock grazing.

Today, there are around 750,000 people of Aboriginal descent in Australia -- about three percent of the population -- but they have far higher poverty rates and lower life expectancy than non-indigenous Australians and make up about 28 percent of the prison population.

Pacific's Cook Islands mulls new name

Yahoo – AFP, 5 March 2019

Dancers from the Cook Islands perform during a ceremony in the capital,
Avarua. The government is considering changing the name of the tiny nation to
something more traditional

The tiny Pacific nation of Cook Islands is considering changing its name to something that reflects its Polynesian culture, rather than honouring the British explorer James Cook.

The government set up a committee in January to find a new indigenous name for the grouping of 15 islands, about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) northeast of New Zealand.

Initially the idea was to have the indigenous moniker feature alongside the existing Cook Islands name, in the same way that its larger neighbour is sometimes known as Aotearoa-New Zealand.

But committee chairman Danny Mataroa said Monday that once discussions began it became apparent there was support for dropping the Cook Islands name altogether in favour of one in the local language, known as Cook Islands Maori.

Map showing the Cook Islands

"When the committee members, which include Cook Islands historians and people with deep traditional knowledge, met we decided it was time we change the name of the country," he told AFP.

Mataroa said the new name should reflect the country's heritage, its people and its strong Christian belief.

Deputy Prime Minister Mark Brown backed the move, but said there was still a long way to go before the nation of 12,000 people changed its name.

"I'm quite happy to look at a traditional name for our country which more reflects the true Polynesian nature of our island nation," he told Radio New Zealand.

It is not the first time the issue has surfaced, with a 1994 referendum to change the name to Avaiki Nui resoundingly defeated.

Weightlifter Sam Pera parades the Cook Islands flag during the opening ceremony 

of the 2004 Olympic Games. The tiny Pacific Ocean nation is considering a name 

change to something more traditional

The Cook Islands were a British protectorate from 1888 until 1900, when they came under New Zealand's jurisdiction.

The Cooks gained independence in 1965 but maintains close ties to Wellington, which takes responsibility for the Cooks' external affairs and allows its citizens to live and work in New Zealand.

Japan to recognise indigenous Ainu people for first time

Yahoo – AFP, February 15, 2019

Japan's indigenous Ainu people have long suffered oppression and
exploitation (AFP Photo/TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA)

Tokyo (AFP) - Japan's government introduced a bill Friday to recognise the country's ethnic Ainu minority as an "indigenous" people for the first time, after decades of discrimination against the group.

The Ainu people -- many of whom live in northern Hokkaido -- have long suffered the effects of a policy of forced assimilation, and while discrimination has receded gradually, income and education gaps with the rest of Japan persist.

"It is important to protect the honour and dignity of the Ainu people and to hand those down to the next generation to realise a vibrant society with diverse values," top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

"Today we made a cabinet decision on a bill to proceed with policies to preserve the Ainu people's pride."

The bill is the first to recognise the Ainu as "indigenous people" and calls for the government to make "forward-looking policies", including measures to support communities and boost local economies and tourism.

The Ainu have long suffered oppression and exploitation, and the modern Japanese government in the late 19th century banned them from practising their customs and using their language.

Factfile on Japan's ethnic Ainu people. (AFP Photo/John SAEKI)

The Ainu traditionally observed an animist faith, with men wearing full beards and women adorning themselves with facial tattoos before marriage.

But like many indigenous people around the world, most of Japan's Ainu have lost touch with their traditional lifestyle after decades of forced assimilation policies.

The Ainu population is estimated to be at least 12,300, according to a 2017 survey, but the real figure is unknown as many have integrated into mainstream society and some have hidden their cultural roots.

"It is the first step for ensuring equality under the law," Mikiko Maruko, who represents a group of Ainu people in eastern Japan near Tokyo, told AFP.

"There are lots of things to be done, for example, creating a scholarship for families who struggle to send their children to high schools," she added, a system currently only available to Ainu in Hokkaido.

Under the new plan, the government will also allow the Ainu to cut down trees in nationally-owned forests for use in traditional rituals.

"It is a major step forward on policies towards the Ainu people," said Masashi Nagaura, chief of the Ainu policy bureau of the Hokkaido prefectural government that has spearheaded policies for the ethnic minority.

US returns war trophy bells to Philippines

Yahoo – AFP, Ayee Macaraig, December 11, 2018

The bells will be sent back later this week to the church in the central town of
Balangiga where they were looted by US soldiers avenging a surprise attack that
killed 48 of their comrades on September 28, 1901 (AFP Photo/TED ALJIBE)

Manila (AFP) - Church bells seized from the Philippines by US troops as war trophies over a century ago were returned on Tuesday, in a bid to turn the page on a difficult chapter between the historical allies.

Giving back the three so-called Balangiga bells meets a decades-old demand from the former US colony at a time when the two nations' ties have been rattled by President Rodrigo Duterte's pivot to China.

"Returning these bells is the right thing to do," US Ambassador Sung Kim said at a sober handover ceremony on a Manila airfield, where a cheer went up when the bells were pulled from wooden crates.

"It is my great honour to be here at the closing of a painful chapter in our history," he told the crowd that included people who had lobbied for years to bring the bells home.

Residents from Balangiga town pose for photos next to one of the three 

Balangiga church bells shortly after it arrived (AFP Photo/TED ALJIBE)

The bells will be sent back later this week to the church in the central town of Balangiga where they were looted by US soldiers avenging a surprise attack that killed 48 of their comrades on September 28, 1901.

In reprisal, the US commander Jacob Smith ordered the surrounding island of Samar be turned into a "howling wilderness", resulting in the slaughter of thousands of Filipinos and Balangiga's razing.

The return of the bronze bells has been divisive with some US veterans and lawmakers, who see them as a tribute to fallen American troops, while the Philippines hails them as a symbol of its struggle for independence.

Two of the bells had been on display in the US state of Wyoming and the other in South Korea until being restored and flown to a Manila air base Tuesday aboard an American military cargo plane.

The bells were flown to a Manila Tuesday aboard an American military cargo

plane (AFP Photo/TED ALJIBE)

'Ring again after 117 years'

"It is time for healing. It is time for closure. It is a time to look ahead as two nations should with shared history and as allies," Philippine secretary of defence Delfin Lorenzana said.

"After 117 years the sound of the bells will once again ring," he added.

Manila's push for the bells' repatriation began in the 1990s and has had backing from Philippine presidents as well as from the Catholic Church and historians, but also supporters in the US.

Duterte, 73, bluntly called on Washington in a 2017 speech -- where Kim was in the audience -- "Give us back those Balangiga bells. They are not yours."

Within months of winning the presidency in mid-2016 he signalled his intention to split with the Philippines' former colonial master and end a standoff with Beijing over the disputed South China Sea.

Philippine's Ambassador to the US Jose Romualdez visited the bells at a 

Wyoming air base with US Defense Secretary James Mattis earlier this year, 

after the US announced they would be returned (AFP Photo/Braydon Williams)

The president did not attend Tuesday's handover, but is due to speak at a ceremony Saturday in Balangiga when the bells -– which weigh a combined 408 kilograms (900 pounds) -– will be given back to the church.

Salvador Panelo, the president's spokesman, claimed a lot of the credit for Duterte, pointing to his "strong political will". However, experts said the process had been complicated.

"No single president can claim credit to it," Francis Gealogo, history professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, told AFP. "The credit should be given to the Filipino people who campaigned vigorously and actively."

A key factor was also major American veterans' associations, including the largest group Veterans of Foreign Wars, dropping their opposition to the bells being given back.

VIDEO: Church bells seized from the Philippines by US troops as war trophies over a century ago have been returned in a bid to turn the page on a difficult chapter between the historical allies https://t.co/tOcymnf9Dc pic.twitter.com/9XV70sPtee

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 11, 2018