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Irawan Ronodipuro, diplomatic affairs spokesman for Prabowo’s Great Indonesian Movement (Gerindra) party, said the entry ban was lifted and that Prabowo was scheduled to meet with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper in November. eleven.
“The United States recognizes Indonesia as a strategic ally in the Indo-Pacific, while we also understand the important role that the United States plays in ensuring a peaceful and stable region,” said spokesman Ronodipuro. . That’s why the ban was lifted, Ronodipuro said.
He stressed that Indonesia values military relations with the United States and China equally and that its foreign policy is always free and dynamic and will continue to be so.
Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto. Photo: EPA-EFE
Prabowo was denied a US visa in mid-2000 when he wanted to attend his son’s college graduation ceremony in Boston. In 2012, he said he still couldn’t apply for a U.S. visa because he was accused of being behind riots that killed more than 1,000 people following the collapse of the Suharto administration in 1998.
The United States considered lifting the ban on Prabowo after he was appointed defense secretary nearly a year ago.
“The approach to Minister Prabowo is a way for the United States to balance China’s influence, to ensure that Indonesia is not leaning too much towards China,” said Alex Arifianto, a researcher at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), he said.
“China has significantly increased its military and economic investments, mainly in infrastructure and mining, in Indonesia since President Joko Widodo took office in 2014,” Arifianto said. “The administration of President Donald Trump is said to have less interaction with Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries than the administration of former President Barack Obama, he said.
Arifianto said the upcoming November meeting would be an opportunity for Washington to show that it still cares about its Southeast Asian allies, albeit bilaterally rather than multilaterally. Zachary Abuza of the National War College (USA) said that Indonesia does not want to be dragged into any major power conflict between the US and China.
The Indonesian military is modernizing its military on a large scale to replace aging defense infrastructure, including aircraft, warships, tanks, and weapons technology. In recent months, Mr. Prabowo has expressed interest in purchasing 15 used Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from Austria, the F-16 Viper from the United States and the Rafale fighter jet from France.
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