Indonesian defense minister urges China, US to reach compromise
The minister said that the current security environment in the Indo-Pacific is highly dominated by tensions caused by the rivalry between China and the US.
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Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto speaking at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 3, 2023. (Social media)
At the occasion of the twentieth Shangri-La Dialogue defense meeting in Singapore on Saturday, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto urged China and the US to seek compromise in order to avert the culmination of present tension into a military conflict.
Prabowo said that the current security environment in the Indo-Pacific is highly dominated by tensions caused by the rivalry between China and the US.
"I am convinced that the leaders of both China and the United States… will resolve these conflicts through compromise, cooperation and with humanism, resulting in a peaceful resolution of their differences. I am convinced that through leadership and wisdom, their great statesmanship will prevail amongst the leaders of these great powers," the minister said, noting that both Chinese and Western civilizations have "contributed to the great advance and progress of humankind," and that the leaders on both parties should rely on "compromise and coexistence" as "the only viable route to prosperity."
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"History teaches us when a rising great power meets a preeminent global power tensions do arise and the historical record shows many of these conflicts result in open conflict, kinetic conflict," Subianto said, warning that modern technologies and AI imply that confrontation could "very quickly result in a dangerous descent to disaster."
He also called himself an "eternal optimist" as he says he does not dare to mention the option alternative to optimism.
The Shangri-La Dialogue was attended by several defense ministers of countries from the Asian-Pacific region. Some officials from the EU and various international organizations also attended the event.
Russia was not invited to participate in the forum for the second year in a row. The country was invited to participate in 2022 but the invitation was revoked. This year, Russia received no invitation.
I am honored for the opportunity to share a key note speech during the Forum IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2023 in Singapore. pic.twitter.com/5FH7u7q13T
— Prabowo Subianto (@prabowo) June 3, 2023
