(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia’s presidential contenders sparred on issues ranging from foreign debt risks to settling disputes in the South China Sea dispute in a televised debate Sunday night, the third ahead of February’s election.

Tensions were high between former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and his opponent, defense minister Prabowo Subianto, whom Anies accused of not doing enough to bolster the nation’s cyber defenses. Former Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo also debated. 

Subianto’s ministry should have done more to bolster Indonesia’s cyber defenses given its massive budget, but hasn’t come up with a comprehensive strategy in five years, Anies said in a dig at his competitor, who’s held the defense post since 2019. 

Anies also took a swipe at Prabowo for buying used military equipment such as fighter jets from other countries.

Prabowo, in his third run for the nation’s top office, said his competitor was “too theoretical” after suggesting that a fast recovery response is needed to counter cyberwarfare. He argued that Indonesia needs to build up skills in areas such as artificial intelligence and maths to develop its cyber industry.

Some 204 million Indonesians will cast their ballots on Feb. 14 to elect a new leader who’ll shape Southeast Asia largest economy’s over the next five years. Incumbent President Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, completes his second term in October and can’t run again. 

Foreign investors will be watching whether the new administration will build upon or steer away from Jokowi’s policies, including an infrastructure spending spree that includes the construction of a new, $34 billion capital city and a commodities refining push aimed at propelling Indonesia into a high-income economy by 2045. 

Anies came into the debate having gained ground in recent opinion polls, yet he’s still trailing Prabowo, who leads all other contenders by a wide margin. 

Anies and Ganjar sparred on Sunday over how to settle the dispute over conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea.

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Indonesia needs to take an assertive role within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to find a solution, Anies said. But Ganjar argued that the regional grouping continues to lack enough consensus to take on thorny problems. 

On the topic of ensuring that Indonesia’s sovereignty isn’t threatened by a reliance on foreign lenders, Ganjar urged prudence when it comes to taking overseas money to support infrastructure development. 

The remarks were seen as a dig at Prabowo and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is Jokowi’s eldest son. The infrastructure plan being developmed by Jokowi includes participating in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

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