Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s landing in Abu Dhabi on 12 September was not simply another diplomatic stopover. Coming just days after Israel’s unprecedented airstrike on Doha—a strike that killed five Hamas delegates and a Qatari officer during cease-fire talks—his presence signalled that Indonesia intends to play a far more active role in Middle Eastern diplomacy than ever before.

Prabowo’s first destination had been Doha itself, where he stood beside Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to declare Indonesia’s solidarity with Qatar. From there, he flew to Abu Dhabi to meet United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, urging regional unity in the face of escalating instability.

For a country geographically distant from the region, Indonesia’s engagement might seem surprising. Yet Prabowo appears to be shaping a new foreign policy posture. As the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation and Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, Indonesia has........

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