Indonesia's new President Prabowo Subianto is eager to assert a much stronger presence on the global stage than his predecessor — with mixed success.
The Indonesia n president was in Washington to meet US President Joe Biden, but it was a phone call with president-elect Donald Trump that has made headlines.Loading Twitter content"Well we'll do that anytime you want but, ah, great job you're doing in Indonesia … proud of you, really amazing.Prabowo replied: "All my training is American, sir."And indeed, Prabowo's links to the United States , and the West more broadly, run deep.
"It is only natural … that Indonesia and China have become very close partners and in many, many fields," Prabowo said in Beijing.China's controversial "nine-dash line"Perhaps it was a strategic misstep by Prabowo's inexperienced foreign minister Sugiono.The International Institute for Strategic Studies' Evan Laksmana told the ABC that on face value the statement was a "strategic setback" for Indonesia.
Indonesia's foreign ministry later clarified the statement, asserting that: "Indonesia reiterates its position that claims have no international legal basis." With the largest population and economy in the region, Indonesia has long been a self-appointed leader within the Association of South-East Asian Nations ."If suddenly Indonesia becomes weak towards China, this could be a 'betrayal' for some ASEAN countries.
And the likenesses between Trump and Prabowo could bode well for the US-Indonesia bilateral relationship."They're brash, they don't necessarily care about public disapproval — in fact, they seem to thrive on it."
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