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n awkward silence swept over the foreign and defense ministries on Tuesday following reports that Indonesia had proposed joint patrols with Australia in the highly disputed South China Sea (SCS).

The Foreign Ministry has remained tight-lipped since Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu proposed to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop the possibility of greater cooperation, during bilateral talks in Bali over the weekend.

Several Foreign Ministry officials declined to comment, referring queries on the matter to the Defense Ministry’s Directorate General for Strategic Defense.

“I am currently looking into it together with the minister,” director general for strategic defense Maj. Gen. Yoedhi Swastanto said. He was unavailable for comment when The Jakarta Post pressed further on the issue.

Last week, Ryamizard said Indonesia suggested bringing “peace patrols” to the SCS that would focus on countries safeguarding natural resources in their respective territories.

“There is no intention whatsoever of damaging the existing ties [in the disputed area],” he said. He added that the possibility of joint patrols and exercises “in the east” had been discussed with Australia.

He also made other vague remarks on the topic of security in the SCS, without elaborating further, including about meeting officials from other countries in the region, such as Cambodia, to propose similar engagements.

Ryamizard, accompanied by the Foreign Ministry’s director general for Asia-Pacific and Africa, Desra Percaya, met his Australian counterpart, Marise Payne, and Bishop during a working dinner in Bali late on Thursday, as part of continued consultations under the banner of the Indonesia-Australia 2+2 Dialogue.

As a result of the meeting, both sides “welcomed ongoing bilateral cooperation on maritime security, including the conduct of bilateral coordinated maritime patrols in 2016”.

“They also exchanged views on recent developments, security challenges and ways to foster stability in the South China Sea and Sulu Sea,” the joint statement read, the latter referring to a stretch of water shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines east of the SCS.

Separately, the Australian side stepped cautiously around the issue by saying it would consider Indonesia’s offer, with Bishop noting it was “consistent with our policies of exercising our right of freedom of navigation”.

“That’s in accordance with international law and our support for peace and stability in the region,” Bishop told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio on Tuesday.

She added that Australia and Indonesia would notify other countries in the region of any planned exercises.

“This is a regular part of what our navy does. This is part of our engagement in the region and this is in accordance with Australia’s right of freedom of navigation including in the South China Sea,” she said.

Amid the confusion surrounding the defense minister’s remarks, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) researcher Evan Laksmana said there was no need to “get ahead of ourselves” before more details on the cooperative arrangements emerged.

The international security expert said the exact location and nature of the proposed cooperation remained unclear, but that it could spell trouble if Indonesia and Australia went ahead with common activities in the SCS.

“That would pose possible problems for us; not just because of possible Chinese responses, which [Indonesia’s] President cares about, but also because several parts of our waters in the area are part of ongoing maritime delimitation negotiations, including with Malaysia,” Evan said.