Indonesia sharpens anti-Singapore rhetoric as Prabowo faces backlash at home
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Indonesia has escalated its attacks on Singapore over haze, gas supplies and other issues as President Prabowo Subianto confronts falling popularity and protests tied to mounting domestic problems.
Indonesia has stepped up its criticism of Singapore, warning pilgrims to avoid transiting through the city-state and trimming gas supplies, in moves that look less like principled diplomacy than a diversion from scrutiny over welfare programmes, market regulation and the recurring wildfires that keep blanketing the region in haze.
Singapore’s foreign minister visited Jakarta this week and met President Prabowo Subianto, while the city-state summoned representatives of companies suspected of having fires on their Indonesian plantations, underscoring how the crisis is being handled through both diplomacy and pressure on business interests.
"Differences are to be expected," Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan told reporters, adding that polemic statements sometimes arise.
Syahganda Nainggolan, head of Indonesia’s communications office, said the gas cuts were driven by domestic supply considerations and only coincided with a tense diplomatic moment, emphasizing that the two countries continue to seek close relations.
Analysts note that Jakarta’s nationalist rhetoric has risen as Singapore and Malaysia complained about the haze, and that the intensity of the discourse has increased under the current administration, according to Yohanes Sulaiman of Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani.
The tension follows a broader backdrop of domestic pressure on President Prabowo, whose approval rating has fallen to 44.5% this month from 81.2% a year earlier, and protests have erupted in several Indonesian cities over the government’s response to the fires.
"Indonesia and Singapore's relationship is complementary, not competitive," former Indonesian ambassador to Singapore Suryo Pratomo said, describing the recent remarks as immediate reactions rather than official policy.
Indonesia remains Singapore’s largest source of foreign direct investment, while Singapore provides fuel imports and key internet infrastructure to Indonesia, underscoring the interdependence despite the current diplomatic strain.