President Prabowo Subianto met with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington DC on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, discussing bilateral Indonesia-U.S. defense cooperation and a number of global security issues.
“We talk about actual problems between two countries, share information and views. That’s the point of our meeting,” Prabowo said as quoted in a statement on Thursday, November 14, 2024.
He expressed hope that with the intensity of growing bilateral defense relations, Indonesia and the U.S. will become more solid in solving various security threats in the Asia-Pacific region and in international level.
On the occasion, President Prabowo also expressed his support for the two-state solution in solving the Palestine-Israel conflict. “I suggested the two-state solution for the conflict that they agree with,” the Indonesian president said.
He expected that ceasefire can be immediately achieved in order to create more stable peace in the region.
“We work and we hope that there will be ceasefire soon,” he said.
On the South China Sea issue, President Prabowo reiterated Indonesia’s position of territorial sovereignty by prioritizing cooperation with all parties.
“We respect all powers involved, but we will also continue to defend our sovereignty,” he said.
Prabowo renewed his position, which prioritizes collaboration and cooperation than confrontation or conflict, by among others promoting mutual trust and respect among countries involved in the South China Sea conflict.
“I believe in collaboration. Cooperation is better than confrontation or conflict .Of course this must be pursued, this is not going to come out of nowhere. There must be efforts to build mutual trust, mutual respect,” he concluded.
