Last October, at a Gaza peace summit in Egypt, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto leaned towards his US counterpart Donald Trump and asked, “Can I meet Eric?”Prabowo was referring to the American president’s son. Trump responded warmly in the exchange that was picked up on a hot microphone. “I’ll have Eric call. He’s such a good boy.”

Eric and his brother Donald Trump Jnr both serve as executive vice-presidents of the Trump Organisation, which has already built its first golf club in Indonesia and is working on a resort in Bali.

The clip quickly spread online, prompting speculation in Jakarta and Washington about Prabowo’s unusually personal approach to engaging the “America first” leader.

The moment also contrasted with how Prabowo was initially perceived after his 2024 election as Indonesia’s most Beijing-friendly leader in years.Eric Trump, executive vice-president of the Trump Organisation, speaks at a bitcoin conference in Hong Kong last year. Photo: Reuters

Some analysts at that time even warned that Jakarta was “sleepwalking” into closer strategic alignment with China, given Beijing’s deep and long-standing economic presence in the country.