Indonesian president Prabowo on China: Historical context by Arnaud Bertrand
@RnaudBertrand
There is no overstating how extraordinary this speech on China by Indonesian president Prabowo is.
Especially if you know Indonesia’s history during the Cold War, and Prabowo’s personal history as a US-trained military officer, one of Suharto’s most feared generals and his son-in-law.
He was speaking on the occasion of the visit of Li Qiang, China’s Premier, and praised China’s “constant opposition to oppression, imperialism, colonialism and apartheid”, and “not just now when China’s economy has become strong, but even when China was still developing.”
Everyone should read the “The Jakarta Method” by Vincent Bevins to learn more about Indonesia’s role during the Cold War.
But as a quick summary, Indonesia began the Cold War as a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement -Sukarno hosted the famous 1955 Bandung Conference that brought together Asian and African nations seeking a “third way” between the US and the Soviet Union.
However, in 1965-66, General Suharto seized power from Sukarno and immediately launched one of the Cold War’s bloodiest purges. With US and British support and using CIA-provided kill lists, Suharto systematically slaughtered an estimated 500,000 to over one million suspected communists, leftists, and ethnic Chinese. Suharto then remained in power for the next 3 decades as the most consequential US ally in South-East Asia.
Which is why now hearing Prabowo, a general under Suharto and his son-in-law, praising China’s anti-imperialist record, including “when China was still developing” (meaning during the Cold War), is so remarkable.
You could of course cynically point out that this is hypocritical given Prabowo’s past. But first and foremost it goes to show how completely the geopolitical landscape has been transformed since the Cold War, and therefore how unlikely it is to see a replay of the same dynamics in Asia.
Very striking too is how Prabowo singles out China’s defense of Palestinians as a source of pride “for us all” – quite a statement from the leader of the world’s largest Muslim nation. And an illustration of the US’s complete failure at creating a rift between the Muslim world and China with the Xinjiang narrative.
In fact it illustrates that the rift is very much between the Muslim world – as well as the Global South in general – and the West.
China is increasingly seen as the moral leader on issues that matter, the “defender of the oppressed”, when the West is seen as the imperialist oppressor.
There is no overstating how extraordinary this speech on China by Indonesian president Prabowo is.
Especially if you know Indonesia's history during the Cold War, and Prabowo's personal history as a US-trained military officer, one of Suharto's most feared generals and his… pic.twitter.com/kzedpVA48D
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) May 26, 2025
While I too, am aware of Suharto’s regime and its bloody history, including that with East Timor, Prabowo has definitely redeemed himself in tangible ways. One of his most admirable acts, and a recent one at that, is his initiative to build 15 million low-cost homes for everyday Indonesian over… Read more »
Thanks for telling, and well said. The true catastrophe of the fragmented West is the suicidal adoption of their unsustainable corrupt ways by mesmerized elites and peoples alike all over. This was foretold in prophesies — their “way of life” would become universalized, and damn 99% of us. We’ve seen streams… Read more »
Thank you Minh and much appreciated! Very well explained.
Prabowo’s personal history as a US-trained military officer, one of Suharto’s most feared generals and his son-in-law.
He was responsible for the massacres in East Timor – His hands are blood stained & he should never be forgiven. Leopards don’t change their spots.
Agreed in general. There could be exceptions to the rule here. Both Russia and China invested huge political and physical capital in recent years. The Indonesian Prez visited Putin several times in last year. Men can repent, of any scale of crime. Indonesia joined BRICS as a full member. China… Read more »
you beat me to it. I feel that his comments prove that the movement of history is toward the end of neocolonialism, greater cooperation between countries, greater sovereignty and placing people before profits. You can call it what you like, but I call it socialism. I recognize this word has… Read more »
Excellent response by AHH. There is also another aspect to this. The latter years of the cold war (’80s and ’90s) were also the peak of Western, particularly US, influence. Many nations, desirous of not being ‘treated’ to exploitative and brutal US bully tactics, played along with due deference while… Read more »