Prabowo U Turns On China Visit Despite Deadly Indonesia Protests

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Recent days have seen smaller rallies following the president’s rollback of lawmakers’ perks and the military’s show of force in Jakarta.
President Prabowo Subianto (centre) visits the relatives of Affan Kurniawan, a motorcycle ride-hailing driver killed during a protest in Jakarta. (AP pic)JAKARTA: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will visit China for a military parade commemorating 80 years since the end of World War II on Wednesday, after earlier cancelling his trip over deadly domestic protests stoked by the death of a young delivery driver
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy was rocked by the widespread protests, which left at least six dead and were initially sparked by the handing out of lavish perks to lawmakers.
Prabowo was forced to revoke some of the incentives in the wake of the demonstrations.
State secretariat minister Prasetyo Hadi said the Indonesian leader left for China on Tuesday evening and was due back a day later.
“Today he monitored the situation and received reports from all relevant officials that public life was gradually returning to normal,” said Prasetyo.
Prabowo and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were expected to meet for talks during the visit, he said.
The rallies have become smaller in recent days after the lawmaker perks were revoked and the military was deployed to the capital on Monday in a show of force.
Prabowo will now join the more than 25 leaders – including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin – who will attend Wednesday’s parade centred on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Xi invited Prabowo for the huge spectacle, in which China will showcase its military prowess, with troops marching in formation, flypasts and high-tech fighting gear on display.
Millions of Chinese people were killed during a prolonged war with imperial Japan in the 1930s and 40s, which became part of a global conflict following Tokyo’s attack on the United States’ Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Indonesia maintains a neutral foreign policy through which it maintains strong relations with both Washington and Beijing. But Prabowo has pledged to boost ties and defence cooperation with China. - FMT

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