PHNOM PENH: Indonesia is prioritising military and police capacity-building in its defence cooperation with Cambodia this year rather than supplying additional weapons, as Jakarta seeks to ensure Cambodian personnel can operate the military equipment provided in previous years more effectively.
Krishnajie Partadiredja, chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Indonesian embassy in Phnom Penh, noted that defence cooperation remained a key pillar of the longstanding relationship between the two Asean countries.
In an August 17 interview during celebrations at the embassy to mark the 81st Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia, he explained that this year's cooperation will focus on strengthening human resources.
“Defence and military cooperation is one of the backbones of cooperation between Indonesia and Cambodia,” he reiterated.
“For this year, the cooperation being implemented between the two countries is capacity development. The Indonesian government provides training for military personnel, as well as the police,” he added.
Partadiredja said Indonesia regarded such training as important for strengthening Cambodia’s security forces' capabilities.
He was responding to questions about the future direction of bilateral defence cooperation and whether Jakarta planned to provide Cambodia with additional, or more advanced, military equipment.
He explained that while Indonesia had previously provided military equipment, predominantly small arms and ammunition from the state-owned defence manufacturer PT Pindad, its current priority was to ensure Cambodian personnel had the skills required to properly operate it.
“This year, we are still more focused on capacity development because the weapons provided two years ago require additional training,” he said.
The defence cooperation forms part of a broader relationship between Cambodia and Indonesia that he described as progressing well across diplomatic, economic and other sectors.
The two countries have maintained diplomatic relations for more than 67 years, while cooperation has expanded across multiple fields.
Partadiredja pointed to a series of recent high-level exchanges as evidence of the increasingly active relationship, including a visit by an Indonesian Senate delegation to Cambodia and a visit by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many to Jakarta.
An Indonesian deputy foreign minister also visited Cambodia in late July, he noted.
Beyond political and security cooperation, bilateral trade has continued to expand, with Partadiredja saying trade between the two countries had shown an upward trend for three consecutive years.
“The trade value between Indonesia and Cambodia has exceeded $1 billion,” he said.
He said data for the first six months of this year also indicated positive growth compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.
According to Partadiredja, Indonesian products are gaining greater acceptance among Cambodian consumers, giving Jakarta confidence about the outlook for bilateral commerce.
He did not provide a specific January-June trade figure during the interview, noting that the embassy would need to verify the latest data before releasing it.
Indonesia is also seeking to translate growing trade into greater business and investment links.
Partadiredja said the Indonesian government, through its embassy in Phnom Penh, would continue working to strengthen mutually beneficial economic cooperation rather than being satisfied with achievements already recorded.
As part of that effort, the embassy plans to organise a “Sousdey Indonesia” event on September 19-20 to introduce Indonesian products to Cambodian consumers and strengthen commercial connections between businesses from the two countries.
Indonesian businesses have also shown interest in establishing a greater manufacturing presence in Cambodia.
The interview highlighted Indonesian food producer Indofood and its investment in Kampong Speu province as an example of Indonesian companies looking beyond exports to focus on local production in the Cambodian market.
Tourism is another sector Jakarta wants to expand, with Partadiredja describing it as an important component of bilateral cooperation.
The embassy is considering organising a familiarisation (FAM) trip in October for a group of Cambodian journalists to visit tourism destinations in Indonesia, to increase awareness of the country’s tourism offerings among Cambodian travellers.
At the same time, Jakarta wants to see more direct air links connecting major destinations in the two countries.
Partadiredja said Indonesia was continuing to encourage additional direct flights between Cambodia and Indonesia, including routes connecting Phnom Penh with Jakarta and Bali, as well as Siem Reap with Bali.
He expressed his hopes that improved air connectivity would stimulate travel in both directions rather than benefiting only Indonesian tourism.
The combination of defence training, expanding trade and investment, high-level exchanges and efforts to improve tourism connectivity reflects a broader push by the two Asean members to deepen a diplomatic relationship established more than six decades ago.
Partadiredja made it clear, however, that Jakarta’s immediate emphasis is on strengthening Cambodian personnel's ability to make effective use of existing resources, rather than providing another round of military hardware. - Phnom Penh Post/ANN
