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President Prabowo to visit China on Friday

The 73-year-old ex-general's state visit will take place from Friday to Sunday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement.

Agencies
Jakarta
Tue, November 5, 2024

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President Prabowo to visit China on Friday Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo-op during their high-profile bilateral meeting in Beijing, China on April 1, 2024. During his visit, the president-elect reiterated a commitment to maintain the close partnership that his predecessor, President Joko (Courtesy of Xinhua/-)

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resident Prabowo Subianto will visit China and meet leader Xi Jinping this week, both nations said Tuesday -- his first foreign tour as he seeks a more prominent position for Jakarta on the world stage.

The 73-year-old ex-general's state visit will take place from Friday to Sunday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement.

Beijing said the visit would aim to "push China-Indonesia relations... to a new level".

"China is ready to work with Indonesia to take this visit as an opportunity to consolidate high-level political mutual trust," the foreign ministry's Mao Ning told a regular briefing.

Xi will hold a welcoming ceremony for the Indonesian leader and the two will hold talks, she said.

Prabowo will also meet with Premier Li Qiang and number three official Zhao Leji, Mao added.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Roy Soemirat confirmed the visit to AFP.

Prabowo was sworn in on October 20, pledging to stick to Jakarta's traditionally non-aligned foreign policy while making the world's fourth-most populous nation more active abroad.

Beijing and Jakarta are key economic allies, but the world's largest archipelago nation is trying to stop foreign vessels from fishing in its waters, saying it costs the economy billions of dollars annually.

Last month, Indonesia drove a Chinese coast guard ship from contested waters in the South China Sea three times.

Chinese vessels have occasionally entered Indonesia-claimed areas of the North Natuna Sea at the southern edge of the South China Sea, drawing protests from Jakarta.

China's foreign ministry last week said its coast guard carries out routine passage "in waters under China's jurisdiction" and that it was willing to cooperate with Indonesia to properly handle incidents. 

China typically says its coast guard operates lawfully and professionally to deter infringements in what are its waters.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in 2016 said China's claim of sovereignty had no basis under international law, a ruling Beijing does not recognise.

While Beijing has locked horns frequently with the Philippines in the South China Sea and has had rows with Vietnam and Malaysia, standoffs with Indonesia have been rare.

The incidents are an early test for newly inaugurated Prabowo, who has pledged to bolster the defense of Indonesian territory.

In 2020, Indonesia deployed fighter jets and warships to patrol the Natuna islands' waters in a spat with Beijing after Chinese vessels entered the area.

Prabowo will also travel to Peru and Brazil for APEC and G20 summits in his first planned foreign visits, the foreign ministry has said.

He is also expected to go to the United States and Britain, newspaper Kompas reported last month, citing presidential palace sources.

After his February election win, Prabowo used his eight-month transition period to visit more than a dozen countries -- including China -- to showcase a more active foreign policy than his predecessor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who focused more on domestic issues like the economy.

Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta.

Indonesia and Russia kicked off their first joint naval drills on Monday.

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