Indonesian president-elect seeks to boost ties with the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto pledged to strengthen his country's traditionally close ties with the Philippines during his courtesy call to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, September 20.

As part of his ASEAN tour, which began earlier this month, Prabowo flew to Manila as one of his final stops before his inauguration next month. He is set to be sworn in as Indonesia’s eighth president, succeeding outgoing President Joko Widodo. 

During the visit, Prabowo thanked Marcos for welcoming him despite the short notice of his trip to Malacañang. "Perhaps it’s the Asian way, our custom, before we enter into a new position, we call on our friends,” the retired Indonesian army general said. 

Prabowo said it was only expected for two Southeast Asian nations that share common historical and cultural roots "to always support each other and to work together closely in all fields." 

“I think it bodes well for our two countries that you have come to visit with the Philippines and (it) shows that the growing relationship between our two countries has been at a very strong level for many years," Marcos told Prabowo. 

'Stronger, deeper' Indonesian-Philippine ties

Marcos also described the ties between the Philippines and Indonesia as spanning "many aspects," ranging from people-to-people to political and diplomatic. 

“I think your visit here today will certainly bring a new impetus to making that relationship between Indonesia and the Philippines stronger and deeper,” he added. 

In 2014, the Philippines and Indonesia, under President Benigno Aquino Jr. and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, resolved a 20-year maritime border dispute by settling on the limits of their overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZ).

The so-called delimitation talks involved the signing of the agreement that defined the maritime borders of the country's EEZ in Mindanao and Celebes Seas. 

The bilateral agreement was first discussed in 1994, codified and signed in 2014 and finally entered into force in August 2019. 

It is said to be the first maritime boundary treaty of the Philippines. 

Prabowo-Marcos similarities

In February, Marcos joined other world leaders in congratulating Prabowo for winning Indonesia's recent presidential elections.

Prabowo won in a landslide victory, bagging nearly 59% of the nationwide vote. Prior to this, he received a de-facto endorsement from Widodo, who was previously his political rival.

The incoming Indonesian president is believed to have relied on campaign tactics that aimed to “rebrand” his image before Indonesians, similar to Marcos’ campaign strategy in the 2022 polls, according to political science expert Richard Heydarian.

Prabowo took a page out of Marcos' "public relations" strategy by sanitizing his image on TikTok to capture support from younger audiences, the political analyst said. 

Indonesia's president-elect is the former son-in-law of Indonesian dictator Soeharto, who ruled over Indonesia for over three decades before stepping down in 1998 amid widespread protests.