Is Prabowo’s Trump moment a sign that China is losing its favourite partner?

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's warm exchange with Donald Trump at a Gaza peace summit, where he asked to meet Trump's son Eric, signals a potential shift in Jakarta's foreign policy away from its traditionally China-friendly stance, testing Indonesia's non-alignment policy.

Advertisement Is Prabowo’s Trump moment a sign that China is losing its favourite partner? The Indonesian leader’s unusual approach to the ‘America first’ president is testing Jakarta’s non-alignment policy, observers said 5-MIN READ5-MIN Listen Last October, at a Gaza peace summit in Egypt, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto https://www.scmp.com/topics/prabowo-subianto?module=inline&pgtype=article leaned towards his US counterpart Donald Trump and asked, “Can I meet Eric?”Prabowo was referring to the American president’s son https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3353541/eric-and-lara-trump-new-us-first-family-faces-making-trip-china?module=inline&pgtype=article . Trump responded warmly in the exchange that was picked up on a hot microphone. “I’ll have Eric call. He’s such a good boy.”Eric and his brother Donald Trump Jnr both serve as executive vice-presidents of the Trump Organisation, which has already built its first golf club in Indonesia and is working on a resort in Bali. The clip quickly spread online, prompting speculation in Jakarta and Washington about Prabowo’s unusually personal approach to engaging the “America first” leader. The moment also contrasted with how Prabowo was initially perceived after his 2024 election as Indonesia’s most Beijing-friendly https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3324169/indonesias-prabowo-attends-chinas-military-parade-protests-rage-home?module=inline&pgtype=article leader in years.Some analysts at that time even warned that Jakarta was “sleepwalking” into closer strategic alignment with China, given Beijing’s deep and long-standing economic presence in the country. Advertisement Select Voice Select Speed 1.00x