Quiet diplomacy? Albanese’s post-victory call caught on camera

Anthony Albanese is a fan of quiet diplomacy, regularly reminding reporters that he does not believe foreign relations should be conducted with a megaphone. Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto is not so discreet.

When Albanese spoke to Prabowo following his election victory, Albanese informed the media that they had enjoyed a friendly conversation and that he would make Jakarta his first overseas destination for his second term.

Prabowo’s team, meanwhile, released a minute-long video of their conversation. This follows a similar move in November when Prabowo released a video of his congratulatory phone call with Donald Trump in which he lavished praise on the US president-elect and expressed his desire to travel to Washington as soon as possible.

It’s a departure from the convention followed by most world leaders, who prefer to keep their conversations private. A sanitised summary (also known as a “read out”) of the conversation will sometimes later be released, but that’s usually as far as it goes.

In the video, Prabowo applauds Albanese for his “great victory”, saying he was “so happy” to see him re-elected.

“I have a request for you, and I want you to say yes,” Albanese replies with a laugh.

“Which is: I want Indonesia to be my first visit. Not Washington, not Beijing, not anywhere else.”

The video then shows the leaders getting into the details, with Albanese proposing “Monday week” as a good date if that suits Prabowo’s schedule.

“I want to send a message to the world, my friend: Australia and Indonesia is an unbreakable bond.”

A different version of the conversation also includes Prabowo remarking on Albanese’s “historical” victory and Albanese replying that “it has never been seen before”.

If the timing is confirmed, Albanese could make his first diplomatic visit as soon as Monday, May 12.

In the lead up to the election campaign, Peter Dutton revealed that he would seek to make Washington DC his first port of call as prime minister, breaking with recent convention that prime ministers hot foot it to Indonesia.

Albanese travelled to meet then Indonesian president Joko Widodo, widely known as Jokowi, for his first bilateral overseas visit in June 2022, following a visit to Japan for a meeting of the Quad nations. In a move interpreted by some analysts as a snub, he cancelled plans to attend Prabowo’s inauguration in October because King Charles and Queen Camilla were visiting Australia.

Greg Fealy, an expert on Indonesian politics at the Australian National University, said of Prabowo’s video: “This is not the sort of thing that Jokowi did. It’s part of Prabowo’s push to portray Indonesia as a friend to all and enemy to none. He is showing that Indonesia is a serious player in the world and that he has good relations with other world leaders.”

In his November conversation with Trump, Prabowo said: “Wherever you are, I’m willing to fly to congratulate you personally, sir.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto meet in Peru in November last year. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Trump, in turn, congratulated him on the “great job” he was doing in Indonesia and his excellent English language skills.

Prabowo, a former general who was once banned from entering the United States for allegedly committing human rights abuses, used social media platforms such as TikTok to great effect during the lead-up to last year’s election to soften his image and woo younger voters.

This was known as his “gemoy” (cute and cuddly) strategy, which rebranded him as a loveable grandfather rather than a military strongman.

Indonesia leapt to prominence in the federal election campaign when the Janes defence website reported that Russia was seeking to base long-range aircraft in the Indonesian province of Papua. Indonesia quickly ruled out the possibility, but Prabowo has a long-term strategy to pursue closer military ties with Moscow.

Fealy said Albanese’s crushing election victory would reduce domestic pressure on him to secure assurances from Prabowo that will be difficult for the Indonesian president to deliver.

“Like with Modi in India, Albanese cannot be too hardline and demand Indonesia stop co-operating with Russia,” he said. “Australian officials will have to be cautious in how they approach this issue.”

Even in the age of social media diplomacy, discretion still has its place.

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