President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Beijing, at the invitation of the Chinese government, signifies a potential pivot in Indonesia’s foreign policy toward China. This visit comes at a crucial time, as Indonesia seeks to assert its position in the region amid escalating China-U.S. rivalry. Examining Prabowo’s historical stance toward China unveils a complex narrative. During … Read more
Indonesia’s energy sector stands at the cusp of potentially transformative change with Prabowo Subianto’s assumption of the presidency in October. While the energy policy of the incoming administration has yet to be articulated in detail, an analysis of Prabowo’s campaign promises and political trajectories offers insights into what this crucial sector might look like under … Read more
From March 31 to April 2, Prabowo Subianto visited China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, his first foreign trip since winning Indonesia’s presidential election in February. During the visit, Xi Jinping congratulated Prabowo on his electoral success and highlighted the high quality of the two nations’ recent bilateral cooperation, notably exemplified by projects … Read more
The Diplomat author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners, and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into U.S. Asia policy. This conversation with Dr. Bridget Welsh – honorary research associate at the Asia Research Institute of University of Nottingham Malaysia, senior research associate of the Hu Feng Center for East Asia … Read more
Indonesia’s election commission has confirmed Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto as the nation’s next president, affirming the unofficial counts that showed the defense minister scoring a landslide victory over his two rivals The former special forces commander won the February 14 contest with more than 58 percent of the nationwide vote and is also believed to … Read more
Yesterday, Indonesian presidential candidate Anies Baswedan announced that he will file a case at the country’s Constitutional Court contesting the results of last month’s election. Speaking with reporters yesterday, the former Jakarta governor repeated his past criticisms that the state had not been neutral in the February 14 election, which saw him come in second … Read more
In the tumultuous years of the early 1980s, a young Indonesian military officer took part in a series of combat operations in East Timor, then under Indonesian occupation. During one military campaign in September 1983, several hundred East Timorese were killed by Indonesian troops in an incident known to history as the Kraras Massacre. As … Read more
In the wake of the recent presidential election in Indonesia, a pivotal question looms large: Will the next leader usher in a new age of military influence in civilian life? The contest, held on February 14, saw three candidates vying for the nation’s highest office: former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, and … Read more
“The first function of the nation is to protect, meaning defense, brothers.” So declared Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s minister of defense, in his opening statement to a presidential debate on January 7. The former general continued: “We understand our country is very large, very rich. For hundreds of years countries from far away came to this … Read more
Over the past ten years, China has emerged as a significant foreign investor in Indonesia. Between 2019 and 2022 alone, according to data from the Ministry of Investment, Chinese companies invested $20.9 billion across 9,080 projects in the country. Chinese investments in Indonesia can be categorized into two distinct groups. The first are those of … Read more