His call was made on Monday as the region’s leaders convened to talk about Washington’s trade tariffs and ASEAN’s long term vision. It also came as analysts and regional observers watched with interest to see whether the former military general, who is seen as cut from the same cloth of regional strongmen past and present, will align himself with ASEAN’s diplomatic priorities.

Prabowo displayed an air of familiarity and diplomatic warmth during his first day of the 46th ASEAN Summit held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, as the erstwhile defense minister of Indonesia reunited with his regional counterparts.

Before taking his seat at the morning plenary session, the President appeared to take his time in greeting and engaging in warm sideline meetings with several of his counterparts. He was seen walking alongside Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and chatting comfortably as they trailed behind ASEAN chair Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

As he made his way to his seat, he was also seen greeting Thai delegates as if among old friends.

Opening the first session of the summit, Malaysia’s Anwar set a sobering tone to kick-start the two-day meeting by explaining that a “transition in the geopolitical order is underway”, one marked by the resurgence of protectionism and multilateralism’s “breaking apart at the seams”.

Yet the “spirit of centrality and the fraternity among ASEAN member states” could breathe new hope for the group to create a common front in dealing with these challenges, Anwar added, be it external pressures, such as the United States tariffs, or internal pressures, as in the case of Myanmar.

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