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em>The Prime Minister of Singapore Laurens Wong arrived in Jakarta on Monday to prepare for an “introductory meeting” with the government of President Prabowo Subianto. Wong sat down to talk to him The Jakarta Posteditor-in-chief, M. Taufiqurrahmanand a few other senior journalists to talk about how robust cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore could impact the broader region. Below are excerpts from the interview:
Ask: Prabowo’s approach to foreign affairs is predictably different from that of the previous administration, in that he would be more assertive in the changing world order. What does the Singaporean government think about this?
Answer: I would say that President Prabowo is pursuing a more active foreign policy, and that is fully in line with Indonesia’s growth and development as an important country in Southeast Asia and in the world.
The President himself has stated very clearly that Indonesia will be a friend to all and a good neighbor. And Singapore fully shares this approach, because we also want to be friends with all countries.
We know that we are in a new environment, where there will be increasing geopolitical tensions and which will in many ways be defined by the relationship between the United States and China. That relationship is one – whichever party wins tomorrow’s election – in which I believe there will continue to be deep distrust and mutual distrust.
We hope there will be no conflict, but both sides are preparing for conflict (and) both sides are trying to find ways to expand their spheres of influence. Our concern is that we will end up in a world that becomes fragmented into rival blocs, rival spheres of influence, like what happened during the last Cold War.