3-4-2024 (JAKARTA) Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s president-elect, expressed his desire for enhanced security and economic cooperation during a meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Wednesday (Apr 3). This comes just two days after Prabowo conveyed similar sentiments to Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to China.
“We have established a cooperative relationship, and I aim to further strengthen it moving forward,” Prabowo stated during the meeting with Kishida.
Having previously emphasized Indonesia’s commitment to a policy of non-alignment, Prabowo’s visit to Japan follows his trip to China on Monday. This marks his first foreign visit since winning the country’s presidential election in February. With both Tokyo and Beijing vying for influence in the Southeast Asian nations surrounding the contested South China Sea, where China claims the majority, Indonesia becomes a strategic focus for the two major powers.
Prabowo, currently serving as the defense minister and a former special forces commander, is scheduled to be sworn in by President Joko Widodo in October.
However, concerns have been raised by human rights groups regarding Prabowo’s alleged involvement in abuses during his military career. In 1998, a military council found him responsible for the kidnapping of student activists, although Prabowo denies these accusations.
During his visit to Tokyo, Prabowo also held a meeting with Japan’s Minister of Defense, Minoru Kihara, further solidifying the diplomatic engagement between the two nations.
