Prabowo Subianto Pushes for Direct Indonesia — Russia Connectivity: From Ships to Aircraft

There was one particularly striking passage in Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s address at the 11th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Russian Federation, on September 3, 2026. The President called for the establishment of direct connectivity between Indonesia and Russia, both by sea and by air. At first glance, the proposal may sound like a conventional agenda of transportation and trade. Yet viewed through the lens of diplomacy and foreign policy, it carries a much deeper strategic message.

President Prabowo was speaking about how friendship between nations must ultimately be translated into tangible infrastructure for bilateral relations. Indonesia and Russia have enjoyed a long diplomatic relationship. Yet history, however important, is not enough. Friendship must generate trade, investment, people-to-people exchanges, knowledge transfer, industrial cooperation, education, tourism, and tangible economic benefits for the peoples of both countries. This is where the significance of President Prabowo’s message lies.

More broadly, Indonesia–Russia connectivity can be viewed within the framework of Indonesia’s long-standing free and active foreign policy. The world is currently experiencing increasing geopolitical fragmentation. Strategic competition among major powers is intensifying. Trade, technology, energy, financial systems, and global supply chains are increasingly shaped by geopolitical considerations.

In Vladivostok, President Prabowo emphasized the importance of building bridges at a time when parts of the world are increasingly building walls. He reminded the world that the Indonesia–Russia friendship cannot remain alive merely in history. The present generation must have the courage to write a new chapter—one measured by concrete outcomes for the people of both countries.

This is an important position for Indonesia. Indonesia does not need to subscribe to the logic that strengthening relations with one country necessarily requires distancing itself from another. Indonesia can be a friend of Russia, the United States, China, the countries of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the wider international community—as long as those relationships are grounded in national interests, equality, mutual respect, and peace. Hence, the essence of Indonesia’s free and active foreign policy: free to determine its own national interests, and active in advancing peace and international cooperation.

There was one particularly striking passage in Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s address at the 11th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Russian Federation, on September 3, 2026. The President called for the establishment of direct connectivity between Indonesia and Russia, both by sea and by air. At first glance, the proposal may sound like a conventional agenda of transportation and trade. Yet viewed through the lens of diplomacy and foreign policy, it carries a much deeper strategic message.

President Prabowo was speaking about how friendship between nations must ultimately be translated into tangible infrastructure for bilateral relations. Indonesia and Russia have enjoyed a long diplomatic relationship. Yet history, however important, is not enough. Friendship must generate trade, investment, people-to-people exchanges, knowledge transfer, industrial cooperation, education, tourism, and tangible economic benefits for the peoples of both countries. This is where the significance of President Prabowo’s message lies.

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From Friendship to Institutionalization

President Prabowo articulated an important principle: as business relations between Indonesia and Russia become increasingly intensive, they must evolve from personal connections into strong and sustainable institutional cooperation. In the President’s view, this requires clear rules, reliable payment mechanisms, predictable logistics, and agreements capable of enduring beyond changes in officeholders and administrations. This is a profoundly important point.

In modern international relations, close ties between leaders can certainly open diplomatic doors. However, mature strategic partnerships cannot depend solely on who occupies the presidency, who serves as a minister, or which officials happen to be in office at a particular moment. Relations between states must rest on strong institutional foundations, which is precisely why connectivity matters. Ships, ports, aircraft, payment systems, investment flows, trade networks, and logistics chains are not merely technical instruments­; they are the infrastructure that gives diplomatic relations a durable economic foundation.

Vladivostok—a New Gateway for Indonesia to Russia

Another particularly interesting element of President Prabowo’s remarks was his focus on Vladivostok. Geographically, Russia’s Far East holds considerable strategic significance for Indonesia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. The President even proposed the development of a competitive direct shipping route between Vladivostok and Indonesia, supported by reliable schedules, competitive costs, insurance arrangements, and sufficient two-way cargo availability. If such a route can be developed on an economically viable and sustainable basis, Indonesia would no longer view Russia solely through the lens of Moscow and European Russia—it would begin to see Russia from the Pacific, representing a very interesting shift in perspective.

Indonesia is a major maritime nation facing both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Russia, too, is a major Pacific power through its vast Far Eastern territories. The sea, therefore, should not merely be perceived as a distance separating two countries. It can be transformed into a corridor of commerce. A direct Indonesia–Vladivostok shipping route could become a new artery for the movement of commodities, industrial products, food, agricultural goods, fisheries products, and other strategic supplies between the two countries.

Importantly, discussions on maritime connectivity did not emerge overnight. In June 2026, Indonesia and Russia also held bilateral consultations addressing the strengthening of cooperation in shipping, maritime connectivity, and logistics. In other words, President Prabowo’s proposal in Vladivostok builds upon a bilateral dialogue that has already been developing.

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Aircraft Carry People, Ideas and Friendship

There was one sentence from President Prabowo that is particularly powerful from a diplomatic perspective: “Ships carry goods, aircraft carry friendship.”

A simple sentence, but one that captures two essential dimensions of international relations: ships represent economic connectivity—aircraft represents human connectivity. Direct air services would make it easier for tourists, students, academics, entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, scientists, and ordinary citizens of both countries to visit one another.

Indonesia–Russia relations already possess a foundation for air connectivity. In previous stages of bilateral relations, direct Moscow–Bali flights have operated several times a week. President Prabowo’s call can therefore be understood as an effort to expand and elevate such connectivity into a broader and more strategic framework. Ultimately, strong diplomacy is not simply about government-to-government relations, as it must evolve into people-to-people relations. When citizens travel between countries, students learn from one another, universities establish partnerships, businesses build networks, and tourists encounter each other’s cultures, bilateral relations acquire a far stronger social foundation.

Indonesia—a Gateway to ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific

There is another strategic message that should not be overlooked. President Prabowo invited Russian companies to come to Indonesia, cooperate, produce, and create value together. Indonesia is also being positioned as a gateway for Russia to access the markets of ASEAN and the broader Indo-Pacific. This demonstrates that Indonesia is not approaching Russia simply as a country seeking something from Moscow. Indonesia is offering a partnership.

With its large domestic market, strategic geographical position, and central role within ASEAN, Indonesia possesses its own considerable bargaining power. Russia, meanwhile, brings substantial capabilities across a range of strategic sectors, including energy, technology, industry, agriculture, space, and higher education. If the strengths of the two countries can be effectively brought together, Indonesia–Russia relations have the potential to move beyond conventional trade toward co-production, joint investment, and industrial partnership.

President Prabowo also encouraged Danantara and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to move beyond merely identifying opportunities toward financing projects that are genuinely viable and investable. This is the language of results-oriented diplomacy.

The Foreign Policy Message: Indonesia Builds Bridges

More broadly, Indonesia–Russia connectivity can be viewed within the framework of Indonesia’s long-standing free and active foreign policy. The world is currently experiencing increasing geopolitical fragmentation. Strategic competition among major powers is intensifying. Trade, technology, energy, financial systems, and global supply chains are increasingly shaped by geopolitical considerations.

In Vladivostok, President Prabowo emphasized the importance of building bridges at a time when parts of the world are increasingly building walls. He reminded the world that the Indonesia–Russia friendship cannot remain alive merely in history. The present generation must have the courage to write a new chapter—one measured by concrete outcomes for the people of both countries.

This is an important position for Indonesia. Indonesia does not need to subscribe to the logic that strengthening relations with one country necessarily requires distancing itself from another. Indonesia can be a friend of Russia, the United States, China, the countries of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the wider international community—as long as those relationships are grounded in national interests, equality, mutual respect, and peace. Hence, the essence of Indonesia’s free and active foreign policy: free to determine its own national interests, and active in advancing peace and international cooperation.

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From Ceremonial Diplomacy to Results-Oriented Diplomacy

For this reason, the most important message that can be taken from Vladivostok is President Prabowo’s determination to make Indonesian diplomacy increasingly concrete and results-oriented.

It is not enough to sign memoranda of understanding.

It is not enough to issue declarations.

It is not enough to exchange compliments about the friendship between two nations.

Every agreement must have clear economic value, financing arrangements, timelines, and implementation milestones. President Prabowo himself emphasized that agreements announced publicly should specify their value, financing, and stages of implementation. This approach can be described as results-oriented diplomacy. Diplomacy, ultimately, must be measurable in terms of the benefits it delivers to the people.

How much has trade increased?

How much investment has entered?

How many industries have been established?

How many jobs have been created?

How many students have gained opportunities to study?

How many tourists have arrived?

How much faster and more affordably can Indonesian goods reach the Russian market—and vice versa?

These are the questions that should increasingly define the success of economic diplomacy.

Ships Carry Goods, Aircraft Carry Friendship

Ultimately, the proposal to establish direct shipping and air links between Indonesia and Russia is about something far greater than transportation. It is about reducing distance, lowering costs, strengthening trust, and transforming friendship into prosperity; ships carry goods, aircraft carry people.

Yet behind both lies a far more strategic cargo: Indonesia’s national interests and the future of Indonesia–Russia relations. If Indonesian and Russian ships eventually cross the Pacific on increasingly regular routes; if aircraft from both countries increasingly carry students, tourists, academics, entrepreneurs, and citizens between our two nations, then what is being built is not merely a transportation network.

What is being built is a geopolitical bridge, an economic bridge, and a bridge of friendship, and perhaps that is the most important message to emerge from Vladivostok. At a time when the world is facing increasing fragmentation, Indonesia under President Prabowo Subianto is choosing to open new pathways.

Not to build walls, but to build bridges.

Not to choose isolation, but connectivity.

Not merely to remember the friendship of the past, but to transform that friendship into concrete cooperation for the future.