China’s Wang meets Jokowi, Prabowo

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his successor Prabowo Subianto yesterday as Beijing seeks to boost its regional influence.

The meetings come after Prabowo visited Beijing this month where Chinese President Xi Jinping praised relations with Jakarta, laying out a vision for regional peace as tensions rise between Beijing and other Southeast Asian neighbours, including the Philippines over disputed islets.

Defence Minister Prabowo stormed to a first-round majority victory in Indonesia’s presidential election in February. He has voiced support for developing closer ties with Beijing.

Wang also met Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi earlier yesterday before visiting Widodo, more popularly known as Jokowi, at the presidential palace and then Prabowo at the Defence Ministry.

Retno said Jokowi and Wang expressed their desire for regional peace and stability, and repeated calls for a de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

“The president emphasised no one would like to see any escalation,” she told reporters after the meeting.

“China’s and Indonesia’s position are the same on this issue and the president also conveyed his belief that China would also use its influence to prevent escalation.”

Beijing’s top diplomat will then chair a session of the ChinaIndonesia High-level Dialogue Cooperation Mechanism today before travelling to Cambodia and Papua New Guinea.

Indonesia’s foreign policy is typically neutral and Jakarta walks a delicate diplomatic tightrope in its relations between Beijing and Washington, who are chafing over trade, Ukraine, the Middle East, Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Retno said she hoped China would use its influence to prevent escalation in Gaza, emphasising the need for a two-state solution.

Both countries pledged to maintain peace in the Indo-Pacific region, with Wang saying he expected that negotiations on the code of conduct on the South China Sea could be accelerated.

Asean and China have for years been trying to create a framework to negotiate a code of conduct, a plan dating as far back as 2002. But progress has been slow despite commitments by all parties to advance and expedite the process.