The three-day security summit hosted by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies is considered the most important defense conference in the region. This year, more than a dozen defense chiefs from around the world, including the US, China and others, are participating. After a two-year hiatus, the event returned and attracted high-profile guests, including Indonesia’s defense chief and former presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto. The former lieutenant general met with Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington during the Shangri-La Dialogue, sharing his thoughts on the war in Ukraine and the modernization of Indonesia’s military arsenal. Al Jazeera: In your speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, you talked about the ‘Asian way’. Where does Indonesia fit into this idea? Subianto: This is our culture that we always try to solve problems through negotiation, through interaction, through commitment, and we keep working, we keep talking until we come up with a friendly, mutually beneficial solution. This is the Asian way. And it’s the Indonesian way. We call it musyawarah mufakat (discussion for a solution) and we call it gotong royong (cooperation). We are looking for common interests. if we always talk about differences, we may not even meet. Al Jazeera: Great focus during this summit focused on US-China tensions. What is Indonesia’s role in tackling these tensions? Subianto: We are in the real and real position that we respect and we are friendly, and we are good friends. We have good cooperation with both forces – I have said this many times. The United States has helped us many times, in our critical moments. But China has also helped us. China also defended us and China is now a very close partner with Indonesia. And in fact, China has always been the leading civilization in Asia. Many of our sultans, kings, princes in those days, married princesses from China. We have been in a relationship for hundreds of years. So it’s natural. Well, you asked me, what is our position, as good friends we try to be, maybe a good common bridge. If not, then we maintain good relations. And we are convinced that both forces will have wise leadership. I am optimistic on this front, many people, of course, understand that they are worried and yes there are dangers. But I think the leader of China will be wise, and so will the leader of the United States. They are great forces. People will expect them to give us good leadership. Al Jazeera: What about some aspects of Indonesia-China relations where there are differences of opinion… for example the South China Sea. How do you meet these challenges? Subianto: As I said with good relationships, good communication with direct contacts, we can come up with a friendly understanding that is mutually beneficial. Al Jazeera: The US Secretary of Defense, earlier in his speech mentioned Indonesia, specifically the naval exercise called Garuda Shield… Subianto: The Garuda Shield has been going on for 14-15 years, but we have exercises with other countries as well. We also plan to do exercises with China. Al Jazeera: The US Secretary of State spoke about the situation in Ukraine and you mentioned in your speech that you said it was a very sad situation. Do you have anything else to say about this? Subianto: Historically, geopolitically, there are always two versions of a story. Indonesia, as you know, we voted together with many Western countries to oppose the invasion of Ukraine – this is our position on the invasion. But once again, I would like to say that Russia has been a very good friend of Indonesia all these years. We have good relations with Russia, they helped us even when we had difficulties and as I mentioned, a friend in need is really a friend. Never forget the friends who helped you. This is our position. We say that all the great powers must be respected and their concerns must be respected. Al Jazeera: You have made the modernization of Indonesia’s defense capabilities a priority, how is that going? Subianto: It goes well, of course, everything needs what I call an incubation period, we can not go to the supermarket and buy defense equipment. I would say it goes well, of course, I’m quite impatient, I hope it goes faster, maybe if I have a magic wand. Al Jazeera: After your speech, you were asked about the region and you said that each country can make its own decisions. Is there anything further to say about this? Subianto: Basically this is the right of each country to assess its own security needs. So I can not tell the Australians or the British what to do. I also do not want them to tell us what to do. We respect each other. Al Jazeera: May I ask your views on the situation in Myanmar? Subianto: I think Indonesia’s position is clearly not recognizing the status quo in Myanmar Al Jazeera: Let’s look at a domestic issue in Indonesia. The plan to create new provinces in Papua is being discussed, and some international human rights groups have expressed concerns about the security and human rights implications. Subianto: There is always this, I would say double or triple standards, whatever countries like Indonesia do. They always try to emphasize the possibility of human rights violations. I think our needs, we have huge areas and this has been under discussion and planning for many years. Al Jazeera: Indonesia’s foreign policy has long been guided by the phrase “free and active”. Do you think Indonesia has a leading role among countries that take a neutral stance? Subianto: Leadership is not something we can give ourselves. I think the best form of state art in my opinion is to tidy up your own home. If we take care of our house in good order, people will look at us. Al Jazeera: Speaking of leadership, your plans for 2024 – Do you intend to claim the presidency? If I need to, if there is strong support for me, then I must put myself in the service of my people and my country.
