In an effort to increase its regional influence, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi met Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his replacement Prabowo Subianto on Thursday ( 18 April ).
Following Prabowoo’s visit to Beijing this quarter, where Chinese President Xi Jinping praised ties with Jakarta and laid out a perception for local harmony as tensions rise between Beijing and other Southeast Asian neighbors, including the Philippines, over the contested South China Sea.
In Indonesia’s national election in February, Prabowo, the country’s defense minister, won with a first-round lot. He has endorsed fostering closer relations with Beijing.
Before visiting Widodo, more popularly known as Jokowi, at the presidential palace and therefore Prabowo at the defense department, Wang also met Indian foreign secretary Retno Marsudi before on Thursday.
Retno noted that Jokowi and Wang have called for a de-escalation and ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and have also expressed their desire for geographical stability and peace.
” Mr President emphasised no one would like to discover any intensification,” she told reporters after the meeting.
Mr. President even expressed his belief that China would use its influence to stop increase and that Indonesia’s place on this issue is the same. “