JAKARTA: On November 21, 2023, a week before launching his campaign to become Indonesia’s next president, Prabowo Subianto was in Singapore to receive the country’s highest military award.
In a statement on Mr Prabowo’s award of the Darja Utama Bhakti Chemerlang (Tentera), or Distinguished Service Award (Military), Singapore’s Ministry of Defense said that the Defense Cooperation Agreement, an important document that strengthens security ties between the two countries, was recognized by him. He emphasized how the agreement was concluded under the States ratified.
The 2022 agreement, which Prabowo, 72, helped shape, “represents an important milestone in the bilateral defense relationship,” Mindef said. He made significant contributions to strengthening the long-standing close bilateral defense relationship between Indonesia and Singapore and fostered closer cooperation, he added.
Analysts told The Straits Times that instances like this show how familiar Mr Prabowo is to Singapore and how this bodes well for bilateral relations.
According to the results of the Election Commission on February 18, the vote count rate was approximately 66.6%, and he is expected to win the election by a large margin.
The final outcome is not expected until March, but early signs indicate the former general will succeed popular outgoing leader Joko Widodo.
Prabowo, who has been defense minister since 2019, leads with 57.9% of the vote, more than double that of his nearest rival.
Less than 24 hours after he was sworn in as Indonesia’s next president, he said in an Instagram post that he had received congratulatory phone calls, one of which was from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Prabowo is no stranger to Singapore, considering he frequently visits the country and interacts with its leaders.
The recent award was presented to him by President Tharuman Shanmugaratnam, and while in Singapore at the time, Mr Prabowo had lunch with his counterpart Dr Ng Eng Heng.
Prabowo also participated in the last two editions of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, a high-level defense powwow held in Singapore.
“He has a long history of working with Singapore’s leaders and people and will continue our defense cooperation,” said Dr. Irman G. Ranti of Indonesia’s Padjadjaran University.
The healthy state of military cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia, based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit and respect for sovereignty, means that both sides can look forward to the development of bilateral relations with confidence, the Republic of South Africa said. said Associate Professor Leonard Sebastian. Rajaratnam School of International Relations, Singapore.
“As President, Mr. Prabowo will continue to promote close cooperation between our two countries’ defense agencies,” Dr. Leonard said.
“We emphasize a proactive and outward-looking Indonesia focused on playing its role in shaping the regional order and the continuity of policies focused on unlocking Indonesia’s economic potential. We can look forward to a government that will.”
Dr Mustafa Izuddin, senior international affairs analyst at policy and business consultancy Solaris Strategies Singapore, said that under President Prabowo, areas of cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia will not be limited to defense but will also expand to other areas. He said it would be.
He said the Prabowo government is expected to emphasize continuity of trade and investment policies, which will be beneficial for Singapore given that Singapore is a major investor and trading partner of Indonesia. He said it would be.
In 2022, Indonesia was the largest visitor to Singapore, with approximately 1.1 million people accounting for 17.4% of the total number of visitors to Singapore.
Singapore has been the largest foreign investor in Indonesia since 2014, with total investment expected to reach $17.5 billion in 2022.
In 2022, Singapore will be Indonesia’s fourth largest trading partner, and Indonesia will be Singapore’s sixth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $74.6 billion.
Dr Mustafa, who is also a visiting professor of international relations at the Islamic University of Indonesia, added that the “sound mission” that Prabowo received speaks volumes about the future of both countries.
“Singapore is Indonesia’s main investor and trading partner, so we can expect political stability,” he said.
Analysts expect Prabowo to continue to make foreign policy a focus as Indonesia continues to assert its influence in world affairs and establish itself as a middle power.
“A thousand friends is too few, but one enemy is too many,” is a phrase Prabowo often used in discussions of geopolitical and international relations, and is a phrase that future Indonesian leaders would like to use. It is widely believed that he will make a statement.
Singapore Management University law professor Eugene Tan pointed out that in his election manifesto, Mr Prabowo had mentioned a “good neighbor” policy, or a desire to work with others to achieve win-win outcomes.
He said this bodes well not only for Singapore, but also for Australia, which is Indonesia’s immediate neighbor, and for ASEAN.
In addition, both Indonesia and Singapore are scheduled to undergo leadership changes, which will place emphasis on past work experience between leaders, Professor Tan said.
Prime Minister Lee said he would hand over the leadership to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong before the next general election, to be held by November 2025, adding that if all goes well, he would hand over to the People’s Action Party No. 70. His birthday is November 21, 2024.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s next president is scheduled to take office in October 2024.
“Indonesia is an important part of our foreign policy. Having a strong previous working relationship and a well-known profile is a bonus. This allows for continuity,” said Professor Tan. – Straits Times/ANN