President Prabowo Subianto has hailed Indonesia’s deepening ties with China, calling it a “pillar of peace and prosperity” in the Southeast Asia region, in an implicit rebuke of western “imperialism and colonialism.” The speech highlights the deepening rift between the West and the Global South, where China is increasingly seen as the guarantor of independence and a moral authority.

There is no overstating how extraordinary this speech (video) on China by President Prabowo is, especially if you know Indonesia's history during the Cold War, and Prabowo's personal history as a US-trained military officer, one of Suharto's most feared generals and his son-in-law.

He was speaking on the occasion of the visit of Li Qiang, China's Premier, and praised China's "constant opposition to oppression, imperialism, colonialism and apartheid", and "not just now when China's economy has become strong, but even when China was still developing."

Everyone should read the "The Jakarta Method" by Vincent Bevins to learn more about Indonesia's role during the Cold War.

But as a quick summary, Indonesia began the Cold War as a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement – Sukarno hosted the famous 1955 Bandung Conference that brought together Asian and African countries seeking a "third way" between the US and the Soviet Union.

However, in 1965-66 General Suharto seized power from Sukarno and immediately launched one of the Cold War's bloodiest purges. With US and British support and using CIA-provided kill lists, Suharto systematically slaughtered an estimated 500,000 to over 1mn suspected communists, leftists and ethnic Chinese. Suharto then remained in power for the next three decades as the most consequential US ally in Southeast Asia.

Which is why now hearing Prabowo, a general under Suharto and his son-in-law, praising China's anti-imperialist record, including "when China was still developing" (meaning during the Cold War), is so remarkable.

You could, of course, cynically point out that this is hypocritical given Prabowo's past. But first and foremost it goes to show how completely the geopolitical landscape has been transformed since the Cold War, and therefore how unlikely it is to see a replay of the same dynamics in Asia.

Very striking too is how Prabowo singles out China's defence of Palestinians as a source of pride "for us all" – quite a statement from the leader of the world's largest Muslim nation. It is an illustration of the US's complete failure to create a rift between the Muslim world and China with the Xinjiang narrative.

In fact, it illustrates that the rift is very much between the Muslim world – as well as the Global South in general – and the West.

China is increasingly seen as the moral leader on issues that matter, the "defender of the oppressed", when the West is seen as the imperialist oppressor.

 

Arnaud Bertrand is an entrepreneur and China analyst. Can be found on X @RnaudBertrand. Bertrand founded HouseTrip, a leading European vacation rental marketplace, and is founder and CEO of Me & Qi, a premier English-language platforms for Traditional Chinese Medicine. He is also a graduate and honorary professor of Founder & CEO of Me & Qi, one of the premier English-language platforms for Traditional Chinese Medicine. He is also a graduate and honorary professor of Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland.