Prabowo Subianto: Indonesia Won't Side With US or China in Conflict

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto stressed that Indonesia will not take sides with any party amid geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific between the United States and China. He said Indonesia would continue to adhere to a free and active foreign policy.

Prabowo, who is likely to run in the 2024 presidential election, said Indonesia would be friends with all countries and did not want to be involved in any position. “We respect all countries, the United States, China, Russia, India, Japan, and all,” he told journalists at the ASEAN Summit Media Center at the Jakarta Convention Center on Thursday, September 7, 2023.

The 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta has entered its final day on Thursday, September 7. Asia's premier regional cooperation forum, the East Asia Summit, is part of the ASEAN Summit which brings together ASEAN and partner countries including the US and China.

Prabowo also said that ASEAN had managed to overcome tensions among its member countries. He pointed to Indonesia's poor relations with neighboring countries such as Malaysia in the past. “Before ASEAN existed, the region was full of tensions with each other,” he said.

At the opening of the East Asia Summit today, Indonesian President Joko Widodo or Jokowi urged all leaders not to create new wars. “We all have a responsibility not to create new conflicts, new tensions, new wars,” he said. “And at the same time, we also have a responsibility to reduce the heated tensions, to melt the frozen atmosphere.”

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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