In a jolt to the US, Indonesia’s army commander has denied making any joint remarks together with his US counterpart on a go to to Washington final week after the Pentagon issued a “joint” press assertion blaming Moscow and Beijing.
In a press convention on Thursday, August 31, Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto acknowledged that the US assertion fails to replicate the nation’s positions and that Indonesia prefers pleasant relationships with each Russia and China.
“There is no joint statement and no press conference. What is important for me to underline is that our relationship with China is very good. We respect each other, we already have a mutual understanding. I conveyed that in the US. We are close friends with China, we respect America, and we seek friendship with Russia,” Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto was quoted as saying.
The official went on to say that he plans to go to Beijing and Moscow sooner or later months and that he thinks Jakarta can act as a “bridge” between competing powers.
The Pentagon assertion titled ‘United States DoD and Indonesia MoD Joint Press Statement’ and issued on August 24, says one thing else completely. According to the report, each the United States and Indonesia “shared the view that the People’s Republic of China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea are inconsistent with international law.” It additionally “jointly” condemned Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, calling for a “complete and unconditional withdrawal” of the Russian army.
Despite noting Subianto’s discussions with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, Indonesia’s Defence Ministry made no point out of a joint assertion with Washington and made no feedback regarding Russia or China.
Meanwhile, Beijing additionally reacted rapidly to the American assertion, stating that the phrases had not been accepted upfront by Indonesian officers. “We’re informed by the Indonesian side that what the US side described is not true. In fact, no such content can be found in the press release by the Indonesian side at the same meeting,” the Chinese embassy in Jakarta mentioned and additional slammed US efforts to create dissension and trigger unrest.
During Subianto’s go to to the United States on August 24, the 2 international locations agreed to strengthen army cooperation, together with joint conflict drills and additional US arms gross sales. The Pentagon additionally acknowledged that it could help Jakarta’s army modernization efforts, proposing “fighter aircraft upgrades, new multi-role fighter aircraft, and additional fixed and rotary wing transport aircraft,” amongst different issues.
Last week, Indonesian officers introduced an settlement with US arms firm Lockheed Martin to buy 24 Sikorsky S-70M Black Hawk transport helicopters, simply after negotiating an enormous contract with Boeing for 2 dozen F-15 fighter fighters. Jakarta is trying to modernise its air fleet, which now makes use of techniques from a number of international locations, together with US and Russian fighter jets.
