Indonesia’s New President Will Be Active on the World Stage

When Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo is sworn in as Indonesia’s eighth president, the southeast Asian archipelago nation, with the world’s fourth largest population, stands ready to expand its role on the world stage.

This leadership strategy is part of a plan to accomplish his primary goals: food security, a modern economy, and a strong military.

Just since February, Prabowo has traveled to China, Japan, Russia, Jordan, Turkey, and France, among other nations, on over a dozen overseas trips. He has offered to be a peacemaker to help end international conflicts in both Ukraine and Gaza. As a candidate, he called out the West for its “double standards” in the conflict, in contrast to the Russia-Ukraine war.

During January’s presidential debate, Prabowo first emphasized national defense, adding that, while his country is very large and very rich, “…for hundreds of years countries from far away came to this archipelago to intervene, to interfere, to bring conflict, and to steal our wealth.”

As an example of Western double standards targeting Indonesia even today, Prabowo cited the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 2020 ban on exports of Indonesian nickel and the European Union’s (EU) ban on imports of Indonesian palm oil commodities.

Prabowo said last November, “We open our market to you (for Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen, for example), but you won’t allow us to sell palm oil, and now we have problems trying to sell coffee, tea, and cocoa.” The irony, he said, is that Europeans long ago forced the ‘Dutch East Indies’ to cut down forests to plant tea, coffee, cocoa, and rubber while taking most of the wealth produced for themselves.”

The impact of the EU ban is significant, as the EU had been the third largest buyer of Indonesian palm oil prior to the ban, which is affecting about 6 billion euros of its annual exports because of the EU’s deforestation law.

Prabowo says, “I don’t want protectionism. I want an equal playing field.”

Simply put, Prabowo expects the old colonial powers to deal with Indonesia as an equal partner in trade, diplomacy, and the pursuit of world peace.

Closer to home, Prabowo has appeared frustrated with the “languid decision making and institutional processes” that have hindered the effectiveness of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Instead of clumsy multinational alliances, Prabowo appears ready to shift his priorities towards bilateral and mini-lateral arrangements.

As an emerging middle-income nation, Prabowo’s Indonesia intends to become self-sufficient in energy via mass adoption of biofuels while at the same time shoring up its food and clean water supplies to reduce security risks. One observer cites Indonesia’s pending application to join the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and its reticence to join the China-led BRICS group as symptomatic of its current foreign relations thrust.

Positioning Indonesia as a non-aligned world broker, Prabowo intends to continue its cooperation with the Chinese, an important economic partner, while also expanding and deepening close partnerships with the U.S. and other Western nations with which Indonesia shares a long history.

Prabowo also plans to build upon already existing ties with the Global South. Especially with African nations, he intends to chart an entirely new course. As he has often stated, Africa is very close to its heart as a continent both blessed and cursed with a colonial past whose nations today are bursting with opportunity and a shared desire for economic growth.

In 2024, Indonesia finds itself at a pivotal moment in its history. The country is poised to become a true economic powerhouse and a key player in a range of regional and global issues, from peace and security in its neighborhood and beyond, to development assistance and the green energy revolution. This transformation will require vision, ambition, and the kind of leadership that brokers unity over bureaucracy.

It should come as no surprise to the diplomatic community that Prabowo’s long career, from service in the military to his current role as Minister of Defense in outgoing President Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi) administration, has prepared the septuagenarian for confronting the world’s most powerful nations as an equal partner in the global future.

Prabowo’s career in service to Indonesia and its people spans decades as a military officer and in various senior political positions. He was the runner-up in the last two presidential elections. As Minister of Defense, he has overseen the nation’s most comprehensive rearmament program in 50 years, launching a 25-year plan to beef up all military branches.

His approach to politics has been described as a combination of Rooseveltian New Deal social democracy mixed with Blair Third Way Laborism. He believes that a strong centralized state can guide the nation towards economic prosperity, by adopting business-friendly policies while never losing sight of the importance of strong social programs.

Prabowo is intriguingly famous for his conciliatory approach and respect shown to adversaries and rivals. “One thousand friends [is] too few, one enemy [is] too many,” is his favorite motto.

This belief permeates his approach to ethnic and religious affairs in Indonesia where Prabowo, who himself is a moderate Muslim, has earned the respect of all faiths.

Just as importantly, it is an approach that also informs Prabowo’s foreign policy.

Few may know his name today, but the odds are that the world will feel the impact of his presidency over time.

[Photo by U.S. Secretary of Defense, via Wikimedia Commons]

The views views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.