US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a “major” defence partnership with Indonesia following a meeting with the South-East Asian nation’s defence minister at the Pentagon.
“We are elevating our relationship to a Major Defence Cooperation Partnership, in recognition of the strength and potential of our bilateral defence ties,” Hegseth said in a statement on X.
The partnership covers “military modernisation and capacity building”, “training and professional military education” and “exercises and operational cooperation”, according to a joint statement.
“Both nations reaffirm their shared commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” the statement said.
Jakarta said the partnership was an “opportunity to reinforce national defence capacity”, but insisted that “free and active foreign policy, national interests and full respect for state sovereignty” would be maintained.
It said that a US proposal to grant American military aircraft access over Indonesian airspace was being “carefully reviewed”.
“It still requires further discussion through technical mechanisms and applicable national procedures,” the Indonesian Ministry of Defence statement added.
Indonesia has the strongest military in South-East Asia, according to the Global Firepower defence analysis site. — AFP
