Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Saturday cancelled a planned trip to China as days of protests spread further outside the capital Jakarta, with several regional parliament buildings set ablaze.
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Prabowo had been expected to attend a “Victory Day” parade in Beijing on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II following Japan’s formal surrender.
The protests, the first major test for Prabowo’s nearly year-old government, began in Jakarta this week over lawmakers’ pay and worsened after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle rider.
“The president wants to continue monitoring [the situation in Indonesia] directly and seek the best solutions,” presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said in a video statement on Saturday.
“Therefore, the president apologises to the Chinese government that he could not attend the invitation.”
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Another consideration in cancelling the trip was a United Nations General Assembly session in September, Prasetyo said.