For his first official trip as Indonesia’s new defence minister, Prabowo Subianto this week visited Malaysia, underscoring the importance of the strategic and security partnership between the two countries that share land and maritime borders. Prabowo is a former general of Kopassus, Indonesia’s elite special forces, and his Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) holds the third-largest bloc of seats in parliament, leading observers to regard him as the country’s most powerful defence minister of the post-Suharto era. His appointment coincides with Indonesia’s plans to move its capital from Jakarta to east Kalimantan on Borneo island. The Malaysian territories of Sabah and Sarawak are also on Borneo, creating a potential flashpoint in relations given that Indonesia’s military build-up around the site of its new capital is expected to continue in an effort to secure the area. Prabowo, however, preferred to emphasise areas of cooperation. Jakarta is bursting at the seams. So where should the new capital be? “In the future, I believe the defence ties between Malaysia and Indonesia will become even better,” he told a press conference on Thursday after meeting Malaysian defence minister Mohamad Sabu to discuss defence strategy and counterterrorism. “We are looking for new and better cooperation, exchange of officers, students … and cooperation in the technical field [of the] defence industry. “I was directed by President Joko Widodo to ensure the ties between Malaysia and Indonesia are maintained and strengthened,” added Prabowo, who was on a two-day trip. He continued on to Bangkok on Friday for the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting Plus to confer with the defence chiefs from the 10-nation bloc and eight global partners, including US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe. Shahriman Lockman, senior analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, said Malaysia needed to understand Prabowo’s priorities given his influence as defence minister. “For Malaysia, it would have been crucial to get a sense of his priorities as defence minister, even though he is well known to Malaysia’s political elites,” Shahriman said. “As far as Indonesian defence ministers in the post-Suharto era go, Prabowo is sui generis .” Prabowo unsuccessfully challenged President Joko Widodo in April’s election – his second losing bid after also losing in 2014. However, he was last month appointed to the cabinet as part of Widodo’s effort to co-opt rivals to forge a stable government. Human rights campaigners decried Prabowo’s appointment, noting that he was dismissed from the military in 1998 over the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists critical of then-president Suharto, who was at one point Prabowo’s father-in-law. Should China be concerned about Indonesia’s new defence minister, Prabowo Subianto? At the press conference, Sabu confirmed Indonesia’s plan to relocate its capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan on Borneo island was also discussed. Shahriman said Indonesia’s military presence in Kalimantan had been growing, and would “continue at a rapid clip as Indonesia shifted its capital”, so “maintaining confidence between the two countries is quite high in the strategic priorities of the two countries”. He also noted jurisdictional disputes in the Malacca Strait and the Sulawesi Sea. According to the 2018 Global Firepower report, Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s most powerful military with 975,750 personnel, 435,750 of whom are actively serving. However, in terms of manpower, the Indonesian military (TNI) is relatively small compared to other countries with large populations. Earlier this month, Merdeka.com reported 3,000 Indonesian troops and additional defence systems were expected to be deployed to East Kalimantan. Last week, Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto told Indonesia’s parliament that new military headquarters for the country’s army, navy and air force were planned for the new capital. Evan Laksmana, a senior researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, wrote on The Strategist policy website on November 6 that in moving the capital, the Indonesian military would effectively be “militarising” Borneo. “The government would need to spend more than US$9 billion – almost equal to next year’s total defence budget – to pay for these shifts in the coming years,” he wrote. “If the plans materialise, Kalimantan will be the first ever non-Java military centre of gravity for Indonesia.” The new capital will share borders with Malaysia and Brunei and will also be closer to the tri-border area – with Malaysia and the Philippines – that has become a hub for transnational terrorism and other criminal activities. “Indonesia certainly has no expansionist designs, but historical acrimonies cast a long shadow on both sides,” Laksmana wrote. “To avoid starting another round of security dilemmas, the TNI’s shift to Kalimantan should be paired with opening up new avenues of dialogue and cooperative activities. Bersama @drwanazizah di Putrajaya bagi meraikan sahabat yang juga Menteri Pertahanan Indonesia @prabowo . Beliau dalam rangka lawatan rasmi selama dua hari ke Malaysia. Semoga kerjasama pertahanan sedia ada antara kedua-dua negara terus dipertingkat. pic.twitter.com/chEld1djiR — Anwar Ibrahim (@anwaribrahim) November 14, 2019 “Indonesia should put more resources into expanding and institutionalising its trilateral cooperation with Malaysia and the Philippines. That will not only be crucial for the new capital’s security but also assuage concerns over the TNI’s heavy presence,” Laksmana added. After meeting with Sabu, Prabowo had dinner in the administrative capital of Putrajaya with Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister-in-waiting, who tweeted: “With Wan Azizah celebrating our friend who is also Indonesia’s defence minister Prabowo.” Wan Azizah is Malaysia’s deputy prime minister and also Anwar’s wife. The two men have been friends for decades and Prabowo has visited several times since Anwar’s release from prison last year. Prabowo grew up in Malaysia and attended school in Kuala Lumpur. “Malaysia is like home,” he told reporters. “This visit is like coming home.”