Jakarta. Beijing wants to see a "stable Asia", Chinese State Security Minister Chen Yixin told President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on Friday during a meeting that also involves Indonesia's intelligence body.

The Chinese politician is on a Southeast Asia trip. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had hosted Chen a day earlier. The latter then traveled to Jakarta at a time when the world was grappling with the repercussions of the US-Israel war on Iran. Anwar, too, flew to Jakarta for separate talks on easing the Iran conflict.

“Chen had expressed China’s hope to work together with friendly nations to safeguard and enhance the security stability in Asia and the world,” Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said, commenting on the minister's talks with Prabowo.

The Indonesian leader was welcoming of the proposal. For Southeast Asia's biggest economy, stability is pivotal for “sustainable economic growth”, according to Teddy.  Prabowo also said yes to Beijing’s wish to beef up a “mutually beneficial partnership”.

M Herindra, who helms the state intelligence agency BIN, was in the room. The Indonesian side did not go into details about whether a bilateral intelligence cooperation was in the works. However, Teddy said that BIN's partnership with Beijing was part of Prabowo's strategy to "bolster Indonesia's national security".