President Joe Biden and President Prabowo Subianto met Tuesday at the White House, marking the 75th anniversary of U.S.-Indonesia relations.
“I will work very hard to strengthen Indonesia and United States relationship,” said Prabowo, who goes by his first name.
Biden said he looks forward to deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest level among nontreaty allies, which the two countries signed in 2023. “That includes deepening our security cooperation,” he said before their meeting.
In brief remarks to the press, Biden twice raised an issue of concern for Washington: freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
He said he wanted to strengthen the U.S. partnership with Indonesia, “by advancing [a] free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The White House meeting came days after Prabowo’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where Indonesia and China signed a series of agreements valued at about $10 billion and focusing on infrastructure, green energy, digital technology and agriculture.
