Pentagon invites once-banned Indonesia minister amid China spat

Defense chief Prabowo has been denied entry over suspected rights abuses

20201015 Prabowo Subianto

Prabowo Subianto, who in 2000 was denied entry to the U.S. to attend his son's graduation ceremony, is now in Washington for high-level defense talks. © AP

SHOTARO TANI, Nikkei staff writer

JAKARTA -- The multipronged U.S.-China spat has prompted Washington to lift a two-decade entry ban on Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, and to invite the former general suspected of human rights abuses to the Pentagon.

Subianto, in the U.S. on a five-day trip through Monday, is to hold high-level talks with U.S. defense officials. Washington's invitation comes as it seeks to coax Southeast Asian countries into its camp and away from China.

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