Guessing the meaning behind Prabowo’s visit to China and Japan

Guessing the meaning behind Prabowo’s visit to China and Japan

Various media highlighted that this was Prabowo’s first visit after he was elected president. Meanwhile, other media reported that this was the first time a president-elect had made an official visit abroad.

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Previously, no elected Indonesian president had done this, for example President Joko Widodo, whose term of office will expire this year, as did his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was elected president in 2004.

Observers who spoke to CNA warned not to assume too much about Prabowo’s visit.

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Dr Christine Susanna Tjhin, one of the founders and director of the Gentala Institute, explained that in Indonesia there is no legal instrument that regulates the authority and foreign visits of the elected president.

Tjhin believes that the meeting with Xi was a diplomatic invitation from China’s top leader to Prabowo that had been scheduled for a long time.

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“A visit to China has actually been on the Ministry of Defense’s agenda since late 2023 or early 2024,” he said.

“Appointments to important positions in ministries and state visits after his inauguration will further indicate the direction of Prabowo’s foreign policy.”

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Having a similar opinion, Radityo also said that the visit to China had probably been planned before the announcement of the presidential election victory.

“Given that Indonesia is an important player in the region, I think this is a good strategy from China to show that Prabowo and Indonesia are important partners.”

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TWO VISITS, DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

Prabowo’s visit was viewed differently in China and Indonesia.

Announcing his arrival, China’s foreign ministry called the 72-year-old politician the “elected president of Indonesia and chairman of the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra)”. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson also emphasized that China was the first country Prabowo visited after being elected president.

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This was also conveyed by President Xi himself in his meeting with Prabowo. “You chose China as your first country of visit after the election, and this special visit to China took place during the holy month of Ramadan,” Xi told Prabowo.

In Indonesia, a Ministry of Defense press statement referred to Prabowo as “Minister of Defense” in a meeting with President Xi. Prabowo’s campaign team spokesman also said his visit to China was as defense minister to strengthen bilateral relations, especially in the defense sector.

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According to observers, China deliberately named Prabowo as Indonesia’s next leader, because China is competing with the United States for influence in the region.

“This is China’s way of showing that they are moving faster than the US in dealing with the next (Indonesian) president,” said Hikmahanto Juwana, a professor of international law at the University of Indonesia.

“China’s move is to ensure that the close diplomatic relations and economic partnership under the current government will be continued in the new government. Therefore, we see a bit of ‘special treatment’ from Xi towards Prabowo during this visit,” added Prof. Juwana.

Two-way trade between China and Indonesia will reach around US$150 billion in 2022, three times higher than 2013. Chinese investment in Indonesia will reach US$8.2 billion in 2022, making China the second largest investor in Indonesia after Singapore.

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