Indonesian Candidates Debate Defense, Foreign Affairs
(JG Screen Grab)
Jakarta. In the third televised presidential debate on Sunday night former Army general Prabowo Subianto toned down his previous aggressive stance on international affairs, while rival Joko Widodo indicated that he could show more teeth when required — including when it comes to border disputes and bilateral tensions with Australia.
Prabowo answered questions related to the topic, "International Politics and National Resilience," rather easily — in line with predictions by some observers who believed he was better equipped on the issues compared with the Jakarta governor.
But he still got stuck on rhetoric, and repeated that Indonesia needed to prevent "leakages" of its natural resources to other countries — which he had mentioned in the previous two debates.
In the debate, which was moderated by Hikmahanto Juwana, a professor of international law at the University of Indonesia, Prabowo's favorite quotes included "One thousand friends are not enough, one enemy is more than enough."
Prabowo repeated this at least three times to emphasize his preference for peace and diplomacy over armed conflict. "I want to put first the friendship, the good-neighbor diplomacy. We will always put first politeness, tolerance with other nations — in line with the character of our nation. Through understanding each other, we will achieve good friendship," Prabowo said in a soft-spoken speech contrary to some observers and outsiders' views that he would take a firm stance against other nations having conflicting interests with Indonesia.
Joko, meanwhile, who has often been thought of being more conciliatory toward foreigners — at least compared with Prabowo, underlined that he would not be a toothless leader. When asked about border disputes, for example, Joko said, "If it's clear that the [disputed area] belongs to us, of course we will make a fuss about that. Don't think I can't be stern. I think sternness is daring to make decisions, daring to take action. As a leader of the nation I will take risks. If they try to grab our land, I'll do anything to [prevent] that."
He similarly showed a firm stance on the issue of Indonesia's sour relations with Australia – saying it was not only distrust. "This is also a problem of dignity. I think we've been deemed a weak nation," Joko said. "That's why the future president must work on these honor and dignity issues. We should never let others belittle and denigrate us because they think we're weak and powerless."
This contrasted with Prabowo, who said, "Australia probably has some kind of phobia against us … They probably think we're a threat. But all Indonesian officials I know want to stay friends with Australia. We need to convince Australia that we want to be a good neighbor, and we're not planning to do anything bad."
Throughout the debate — the third of five scheduled by the General Elections Commission (KPU) — Prabowo repeatedly emphasized that to build international prominence, Indonesia would first need to ensure strong economic and human development at home. "Strong resilience and defense stem from people's prosperity. Therefore we need to work hard to strengthen our economy and reduce leakages," Prabowo repeated once more, while making his closing remarks for the evening. "No country will respect us as long as we remain weak. Therefore we will work hard to become a dignified nation who will stand on its own feet."
(JG Graphics)
Other issues
Joko, meanwhile, chose to look at the issue case per case, citing the need to protect Indonesian migrant workers abroad through training and selection processes prior to assignments and for regular monitoring of their condition afterward; the need to employ drones for defense purposes, as well as for surveillance against poaching and illegal logging; and his full support for the independence of Palestine, as well as its full membership in the United Nations.
Joko, though, was vague on his vision for Indonesia in what he called "a global maritime axis."
"Today's geopolitics are shifting from the West to Asia, and we're in the middle of that. In the future, we need to become a global maritime axis so that we can become a dignified, respected nation," Joko said, stopping short of elaborating what he meant with the axis.
Both candidates agreed that Indonesia needed to support the growth of its strategic industry as part of attempts to revamp the country's aging weaponry and military equipment, and thus boost its defense. They argued over Indonesia's recent purchase of Leopard tanks from Germany, though. Joko said the 60-ton tanks did not suit geographic conditions in the country, while Prabowo defended the purchase, saying they were suitable for some parts of the country and would support the Indonesian Military's (TNI) peacekeeping missions elsewhere.
The issue of the sale of then state-owned telecommunication firm Indosat during the presidency of Megawati Sukarnoputri — chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Joko's political vehicle — also emerged as Prabowo pressed Joko on the issue. The case is often used by Megawati and the PDI-P's opponents to accuse them of being neoliberalists, which doesn't sit well with Indonesian voters.
Joko said the decision to sell Indosat was made in the aftermath of the 1997-98 financial crisis, emphasizing that the step was inevitable. He added that anyone elected as president must buy back the strategic asset for the nation.
Indonesians go to the polls on July 9 to elect a new president to replace Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose second five-year term ends in October.
Bad public speech vs. rhetoric?
Bantarto Bandoro, an international relations and defense expert from the Indonesia Defense University (Unhan), was of the opinion that apart from the contents in the candidate's answers, Prabowo was more convincing than Joko.
"Based on articulation, Prabowo wins compared to Jokowi. I can tell that Jokowi actually has a good message, but in the first part of the debate, he didn't look confident," Bantarto said, referring to Joko by his nickname. "From my observation, Jokowi needs to do more work with regards to public communication."
Still, Makmur Keliat, an international relations expert from the University of Indonesia, said Joko performed better. "Joko offered practical guidance, like in the case of drones, which he said will be used to monitor illegal fishing activities," Makmur said. "Prabowo, on the other hand, while managing to address our concerns on natural resources issues, did not offer any practical solutions."
As for Joko's idea for a global maritime axis, he said that "Joko did not elaborate on the concept of a global maritime axis — which is good because it leaves room for interpretation and discussion. But at the end, we know there's something grand to be achieved."
Prabowo, meanwhile, failed to offer new ideas on the country's foreign policy and appeared reluctant to oppose the direction taken by the current administration, Makmur added.
Posted by: "Sunny" <ambon@tele2.se>
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