The honored guests were visibly pleased when Prabowo called out their full names and titles one by one in his first state address. This has rarely happened in such a state ceremony and can be seen as a trademark for Prabowo’s personal touch. According to Prabowo, 19 heads of state, 19 heads of government and 15 special envoys accepted his invitation.

Prabowo has grown in prominence internationally since his predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo appointed him the defense minister in 2019. After winning the February election, Prabowo toured a number of countries in a show of diplomatic acumen.

“In facing the international world, we choose a free and active path, we do not want to join any military pacts. We want to be a good neighbor,” President Prabowo said in his inaugural speech, sending a clear message to his foreign guests.

East Asia was represented by South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and former Japanese foreign minister Masahiko Kōmura. As president-elect Prabowo had paid a courtesy call to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bejing and then Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo in April. However, Prabowo has not visited Seoul for talks with President Yoon Sook-yeol.

The three East Asian nations are Indonesia’s most important trading and economic partners and strategic investment sources. The recurring crisis in the Taiwan Strait, the constant nuclear threats from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and the increasing military tensions in the South China Sea are three potential sources of instability in the Indo-Pacific region.

In his courtesy call to Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Han reiterated China’s readiness to “continue to deepen the practical cooperation in various fields with the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative [BRI] cooperation taking the lead”.

Han became the first foreign guest Gibran has received since his inauguration. The young Vice President will need more international exposure, which Prabowo will provide by assigning him to international duties except for major global and multilateral events. Due to his lack of experience in diplomacy, Gibran will need foreign affairs advisors.

Prabowo has chosen Beijing as the first destination of his inaugural overseas visit. In Beijing Prabowo is scheduled to hold talks with President Xi, amid tension in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone in Natuna waters, where the Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) has expelled China Coast Guard vessels three times within the past week.

During his two-week overseas trip, Prabowo will also visit London to meet British PM Keir Starmer and King Charles after attending the APEC and Group of 20 summits in Peru and Brazil, respectively. Prabowo also plans to hold talks with the next United States president.

Prabowo initially also wished to visit Tokyo again, but as Japan is facing political uncertainty after the new PM Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling party LDP failed to maintain its parliamentary majority, Prabowo decided to postpone the visit. But whoever will be in charge of the Japanese government, even the opposition, Indonesia’s relationship with the world’s fourth-largest economy will remain strong and stable.

But what about South Korea? Prabowo has at least a moral obligation to return the attendance of PM Han by making at least a brief visit to Seoul. Han has conveyed an official invitation from President Yoon to President Prabowo. The two countries need to fully settle their stalled military cooperation by seeking a win-win solution while sticking to internationally recognized laws in resolving disputes.

Now, look at the ASEAN member states, six of whose leaders attended Prabowo’s inauguration. They were Singapore’s PM Lawrence Wong, Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodian PM Hun Manet and Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. They came to show their respect to their new colleague, who had visited them before his inauguration.

Prabowo wants to go global. But he needs to remember that ASEAN plays a very important role in boosting Indonesia’s influence at the international level. Indonesia cannot go all alone without ASEAN, which has now grown into one of the world’s prominent regional blocs.

Meanwhile, Pacific countries were represented by New Zealand Deputy PM Winston Peters, Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) PM James Marape, Vanuatu’s PM Charlot Salwai, Timor-Leste’s PM Xanana Gusmao and Solomon Islands’ PM Jeremiah Manele. Indonesia tends to suspect the Pacific region as a major supporter of the Papuan separatist movement and therefore Jakarta’s approach is aimed at keeping the region “silent” about Papua.

Small Pacific nations share a strong emotional bond with Papua due to their Melanesian roots. President Prabowo should plan a visit to these nations to build Indonesia’s relationship with them anew. Prabowo has visited PNG, but not yet Timor-Leste, where as a soldier he fought Xanana when the territory was colonized by Indonesia decades ago.

What is also interesting was the attendance of Australia’s Deputy PM and Defense Minister Richard Marles. PM Anthony Albanese promised to attend Prabowo’s inauguration when the Indonesian president-elect visited Canberra in August. However, on Oct. 20, King Charles visited Australia, therefore Albanese assigned his deputy Marles to attend Prabowo’s inauguration on his behalf.

Australia once also “blacklisted” Prabowo due to his alleged role in atrocities in then East Timor and other human rights violations. The US only lifted its entry ban of Prabowo when he was appointed Jokowi’s defense minister in 2019.

Apart from making visits, President Prabowo is expected to give a priority to East Asia, ASEAN and the Pacific in his diplomacy. Foreign Minister Sugiono and his three deputies, career diplomats Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir and Arif Havas Oegroseno and politician Anis Matta, can be assigned to pay more attention to the three regions.

The foreign dignitaries who came to Jakarta to witness Prabowo’s ascent to power on Oct. 20 surely expect a payback from Prabowo. They regard Indonesia as a strategic partner and want mutually beneficial relations with the republic.

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The writer is a senior editor at The Jakarta Post.