Claim: A video shows the Indonesian president saluting Field Marshal Asim Munir during their recent meeting.
Fact: The video shows Indonesian Defense Minister Lieutenant General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, not President Prabowo Subianto. Additionally, the defense minister neither saluted Field Marshal Asim Munir nor did he avoid eye contact during the interaction.
A video shared online claims to show a meeting between the Indonesian president and Pakistani Chief of Defense Forces and Field Marshal Asim Munir.
The post is captioned: “Remember that salute of Indonesian president 🗿”
It also contains the following text:
“When you earn utmost respect
‘They don’t dare look up at you’ ”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes of the clip to trace the original footage. We found identical footage shared by Pakistan Army’s media wing Inter Services Public Relation’s (ISPR) official YouTube channel on 12 January, titled: “Minister of Defence of the Republic of Indonesia, called on COAS.| ISPR”.
The description of the video stated, “Lieutenant General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (Retd), Minister of Defence of the Republic of Indonesia, called on Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, NI (M), HJ, COAS & CDF, at General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi. The meeting focused on matters of mutual interest, evolving regional and global security dynamics, and exploration of avenues for enhancing bilateral defence cooperation.” This confirmed that the viral clip shows the Indonesian defense minister and not the Indonesian president.
Then Soch Fact Check found a press release published on ISPR’s official website, which included an image showing Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin looking directly at Field Marshal Asim Munir. This also confirmed that he did not keep his gaze lowered during the interaction.
According to the press release, Lieutenant General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (Retd), Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia, called on Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi on 12 January 2026. The meeting focused on matters of mutual interest, evolving regional and global security dynamics, and exploration of avenues for enhancing bilateral defence cooperation.
The press release further said that the Indonesian Defense Minister also expressed the desire to further expand defense ties with Pakistan across multiple domains. The Field Marshal reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to fostering a strong and enduring defense relationship with Indonesia, based on shared values, mutual respect, and convergence of strategic interests, it added.
Virality
The video was shared here (archive) on Instagram.
Conclusion: The viral video shows Indonesia’s Defence Minister, not the president. Moreover, neither did he salute Asim Munir nor did he avoid eye contact during the meeting.
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Background image in cover photo: ISPR
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