Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto met with their Japanese counterparts in a two-plus-two ministers’ meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.

After the meeting, Prabowo and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi signed an agreement on the transfer of Japanese-made defense equipment and technology. The agreement is being called the first of its kind between the two countries.

“I had the honor of signing an agreement on the transfer of military equipment and technology from Japan to Indonesia,” Prabowo said in a joint statement. 

He invited Japan to participate in the modernization of Indonesia’s defense and encouraged the two countries to engage in joint military training efforts.

Read also: Indonesia calls for ‘diplomacy, dialogue’ ahead of Japan meeting

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the negotiations leading up to the agreement started in the first two-plus-two meeting between the countries in 2015. He added that Japan would accelerate consultations for the transfer of equipment.

Motegi said both countries shared “serious concerns about the continued and strengthened unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force”, referring to China’s recently passed Coast Guard Law.

The law allows the Chinese coast guard to open fire on vessels intruding into waters the country considers its own. Japan, concerned that the law would affect an ongoing spat with Beijing in the East China Sea, raised the issue during a two-plus-two meeting with the United States earlier this month.

While calling for “a lot of positive energy and cooperation” and urging parties to “abandon self-interest”, Retno said Indonesia welcomed the growth of bilateral cooperation with Japan, which included the development of Indonesia’s outermost islands and the transfer of fisheries surveillance vessels.

“The first vessel will be in operation next year, and we have begun discussions on the transfer of a second vessel. We also appreciate the growing cooperation between the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency [Bakamla] and the Japanese Coast Guard,” she said. 

Read also: Japan, US express "serious concerns" over China coast guard law

Indonesia has worked to boost its capacity to counter illegal fishing in its waters. Chinese fishing boats, often accompanied by coast guard vessels, still make frequent incursions into Indonesia's exclusive economic zone in the North Natuna Sea, which overlaps with Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea. 

At the meeting, the ministers also discussed the strategic outlook for the Indo-Pacific region, and Retno reiterated ASEAN’s principles of openness, transparency, inclusivity and cooperation, as expressed in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).

“Practical cooperation, in particular economic cooperation with all partners, including with Japan, is paramount. The Indo-Pacific should be a region of peace and prosperity. This can only be fulfilled if cooperation is continuously pursued and when every country respects and implements international laws,” she said. 

Before the principal meeting, Prabowo met with Kishi on Sunday to discuss bilateral defense cooperation and regional security, and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met with Motegi on Monday to discuss bilateral cooperation on various issues, including health and the post-pandemic economic recovery.

On Tuesday, Retno and Prabowo also paid a call to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who said he hoped the defense cooperation agreement would serve as a "foundation for further security cooperation between the two countries", Kyodo News reported.

"To realize the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, I'd like to advance specific cooperation," Suga told the Indonesian ministers in his office.

ASEAN member states adopted the AOIP in 2019 in response to growing interest in the region from several countries, including Japan with its Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) plan, which emphasizes the rule of law, economic prosperity, peace and stability.

Japan, the US, Australia and India recently revived the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and launched a charm offensive in the region, which experts saw as an attempt to contain China’s influence.

Read also: A look at Indonesia-Japan relations in the years of Reiwa

The Indonesian and Japanese ministers also exchanged views on the ongoing situation in Myanmar, where more than 100 people demonstrating against the military junta were killed over the weekend.

“Indonesia strongly denounces this kind of act. It is unacceptable. While continuously respecting the non-interference principle from the very beginning, ASEAN offers its assistance to Myanmar,” Retno said. 

Some members of the international community have pinned their hopes on ASEAN to provide an effective response to the Myanmar coup crisis. However, the bloc has taken a more informal and familial approach, issuing appeals for restraint as human rights defenders lambast the junta for killing protesters.

Earlier this month, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo called for a special ASEAN summit to discuss the Myanmar situation. The President said he would propose to Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah that the meeting be held “immediately”. Brunei holds this year’s rotating ASEAN chairmanship.