Sawt Falasteen - Indonesia's first giant panda is set to charm the public

Satrio Wiratama was born in November last year in Taman Safari Indonesia, a zoo in Cisarua, West Java, to a pair of pandas loaned by China to Indonesia.

"There are so many Indonesians who had to go all the way to China just to see baby pandas. Now they don't have to anymore," zoo director Aswin Sumampau told reporters Friday.

Inside the enclosure built to welcome his parents, the 170-day-old cub, whose name means "brave and noble warrior", was playing with a panda stuffed toy and a bamboo teether.

His mother, Hu Chun, and his father, Cai Tao, arrived in Indonesia in 2017 when they were both seven years old as part of "panda diplomacy" aimed at celebrating 60 years of bilateral ties between the two countries.

Nicknamed Rio, the cub was the only panda born in a zoo outside China in the past three years, Aswin said.

Ahead of his debut later this month, Rio has already amassed many fans who can't wait to see him.

"The little panda is cute, adorable and totally heart-melting," a fan wrote on the zoo's social media page.

Rio currently weighs more than 11 kilograms and is still learning to climb, according to Bongot Huaso Mulia, the veterinarian caring for him.

The cub, whose coat is still peppered with reddish fur, is very active and still nursing, he said.

China has a long history of using giant pandas -- a national icon -- in its diplomatic outreach.

Indonesia maintains it has no maritime disputes with China in the South China Sea, unlike other Asian nations, and does not contest ownership of reefs or islets there.

J.AbuShaban--SF-PST