Expert: Prabowo succeeds in keeping Indonesia relevant amid heated global conflicts

National security researcher Ulta Levenia Nababan has assessed that President Prabowo Subianto has successfully allowed Indonesia to freely establish defence cooperation with other countries amid heated international conflicts. Levenia did not hesitate to analogise Indonesia as dancing in the middle of a burning forest. ‘In my view, Indonesia is the only country that can dance beautifully in the middle of a forest fire. While others are burning globally, it can dance beautifully,’ Levenia said in a podcast broadcast on the official Ministry of Defence account during an interview with the Head of the Information Bureau of the Ministry of Defence Secretariat General, Rico Ricardo Sirait, on Monday. Levenia explained that her analogy was not without reason, as Indonesia can still manoeuvre freely to build military cooperation with other nations amidst escalating conflicts. One highlight was when President Prabowo Subianto met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the same day that Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin met US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth. Levenia also spotlighted the strategic cooperation in drone development between Republikorp and the Turkish defence industry. She believes all this is possible due to Prabowo’s skill in fostering good relations with world leaders. ‘This is a long-term investment, and I think it started since Pak Prabowo was Defence Minister. He planted the seeds, and now it is continued by Pak Sjafrie for execution,’ Levenia told Rico. Consequently, the domestic defence industry and all its human resources can study the technology so that Indonesia’s defence sector can become more independent and robust in the future. Moreover, this cooperation also makes Indonesia safer from the threat of arms embargoes from any party. ‘For example, if America embargoes us, we have other reserves for cooperation. Because we have many partners, it actually secures our strategic position,’ she said. Levenia is therefore confident that Prabowo’s efforts in building bilateral relations with world leaders have sufficiently safeguarded Indonesia from the impacts of global conflict. She hopes these strategic steps will continue to be carried out to protect national interests.