Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Saturday canceled a planned trip to China as days of protests spread further outside the capital Jakarta, with several regional parliament buildings set ablaze.
Prabowo had been due to attend a “Victory Day” parade in China on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two 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 apologizes to the Chinese government that he could not attend the invitation.”
