TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Netherlands, RI sign LoI on defense cooperation
Mobile diplomacy: Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro (right) accompanies his Dutch counterpart, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert (center), during a guard-of-honor ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Jakarta on Wednesday
Change Size
Mobile diplomacy: Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro (right) accompanies his Dutch counterpart, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert (center), during a guard-of-honor ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Jakarta on Wednesday. Both ministers discussed measures to improve defense cooperation in training and education. (Antara/Zabur Karuru) (right) accompanies his Dutch counterpart, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert (center), during a guard-of-honor ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Jakarta on Wednesday. Both ministers discussed measures to improve defense cooperation in training and education. (Antara/Zabur Karuru)
M
span class="inline inline-none">Mobile diplomacy: Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro (right) accompanies his Dutch counterpart, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert (center), during a guard-of-honor ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Jakarta on Wednesday. Both ministers discussed measures to improve defense cooperation in training and education. (Antara/Zabur Karuru)
The Netherlands and Indonesia solidified on Wednesday their intention to increase defense cooperation while at the same time reaffirmed Indonesia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Visiting Dutch Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert held a bilateral meeting with her counterpart Purnomo Yusgiantoro to discuss measures to strengthen defense cooperation.
The cooperation will include training and education, seminars and exchanges between military officers of both countries.
Principal director of General Policy Affairs at the Dutch Defense Ministry, Wim Bargerbos, and director general of Defense Strategy at Indonesia's Defense Ministry, Sonny ES Prasetyo, signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) on measures to increase defense cooperation.
The LoI is expected to be transferred into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will be signed in the near future.
Yusgiantoro has also extended an invitation to Hennis-Plasschaert to attend the Jakarta International Defense Dialogue in March.
Both ministers also discussed various global and regional issues such as the Korean Peninsula, South China Sea disputes as well as internal conflicts in the Middle East and East Africa.
Responding to a question regarding elements in the Netherlands backing separatist movements in Indonesia, Hennis-Plasschaert said that her country was committed to respecting Indonesia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
She also said she was sorry that an initial negotiation for Indonesia to buy surplus Dutch Leopard two main battle tanks had fallen apart due to opposition from some Dutch parliament members.
Hennis-Plasschaert also gave a general lecture to students from the Indonesian Defense University (IDU).
She said the Dutch Defense White Paper had emphasized closer military cooperation and the importance of economic security for the Netherlands.
Responding to a question from one of the students, Hennis-Plasschaert said her country had extensive experience in anti-piracy operations, a problem faced by Indonesia in the Malacca Straits.
She suggested Indonesian navy officers undergo anti-piracy training onboard Dutch warships.
