Analysis | Should China be concerned about Indonesia’s new defence minister, Prabowo Subianto?

Prabowo, a former general, was suspected of playing a role in the May 1998 riots that targeted Chinese Indonesians

His ambivalence towards China will continue but he cannot turn back the clock on Indonesia’s growing security ties with its neighbour to the north

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Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s new Defence Minister. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:00am, 28 Oct 2019Updated: 2:40pm, 18 Dec 2019

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo caused surprise and chagrin when he picked his election rival and chair of the Gerindra Party, retired general Prabowo Subianto, as his defence minister earlier this week.

Prabowo’s chequered military past is well known. He was one of the country’s most powerful generals under the authoritarian regime of Suharto, his then father-in-law. A few months after Suharto’s downfall in May 1998, a disciplinary board convened by the military leadership effectively discharged Prabowo for allegedly kidnapping pro-democracy activists.

After a brief exile, Prabowo then founded the Gerindra party in 2008 and has sought the presidency ever since. His elevation into the defence ministry – his first public office as a civilian – will have profound consequences for civil-military relations and defence policymaking.

He is likely to retain his chairmanship of Gerindra, the third-largest party in the national legislature, and it is likely to field a presidential contender in 2024. He is also surrounded by influential retired generals. Given his extensive ties to the Army Special Forces, which he commanded in 1995, Prabowo has become the most powerful defence minister in over two decades.

While the defence minister himself does not have operational command and control over the military, the ministry does control its budget and formulates broader strategic policy.