On Aug. 24, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto journeyed to Washington and met with Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon. The Pentagon claimed that the two issued a joint statement that included the following lines: “They shared the view that the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea are inconsistent with international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Secretary Austin and Minister Prabowo jointly condemned violations of national sovereignty, as reflected in United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1 dated 2 March 2022, as adopted by majority vote, which deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine.”
But the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia also issued a statement, dated Aug. 25, which was nearly identical, except that there was no mention of either Russia or China.
