JAKARTA, April 18 – Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stated that Indonesia and China shared the same stance and commitment to prevent a wider outbreak of conflict in the Middle East and achieve concrete solutions in addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The minister highlighted that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Indonesia took place amid ongoing concern over the current development in the Middle East, especially following renewed hostilities between Iran and Israel.
“We shared the same view regarding the importance of restraint and de-escalation to all parties,” Marsudi stated at a joint press conference with Yi on Thursday.
Marsudi remarked that during the bilateral meeting, she informed her Chinese counterpart about Indonesia’s diplomatic efforts to defuse escalation in the Middle East.
Marsudi is also confident that China would use its influence to prevent the regional conflict from snowballing into a full-scale war.
Meanwhile, she highlighted that Indonesia and China shared a common stance regarding the urgent need to stop Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip through sustainable and unconditional ceasefire.
The two countries also agreed that the Israel-Palestine conflict should be addressed through the two-state solution strategy and the inclusion of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations.
“Stability in the Middle East will not be realized as long as the Palestinian issue continues to go unaddressed,” she emphasized.
Apart from the Middle East issue, the two foreign ministers also discussed matters related to the Indo-Pacific region during their bilateral meeting.
Marsudi stated that Indonesia and China shared the same responsibility to ensure the Indo-Pacific region will be peaceful and stable.
