The defense pledges, made under the condition that Indonesia remains unaligned in the superpower rivalry, could prove to be advantageous to the country’s chairmanship of ASEAN, experts have suggested.

Speaking to reporters after hosting US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in his Jakarta office, Prabowo said the two defense chiefs shared “pensive and extensive exchanges” in discussing future cooperation, based on their nations’ respect for international law and democratic values.

More specifically, he said that efforts to modernize the Indonesian Military (TNI) were in the pipeline, including the procurement of F-15 jet fighters from the Pentagon, a US$13.9 billion deal first announced in February that only requires the green light from the Indonesian side.

“We certainly support Indonesia’s efforts to continue to modernize their defense systems and capabilities, and we want to continue to be helpful in any way we can. The acquisition of the F-15 certainly increases interoperability,” Austin said in an official statement.

That the two nations have had many years of defense cooperation is a point of “satisfaction”, Prabowo said.

Meanwhile, Austin explained that Indonesia’s leadership in the region made it an instrumental partner in ensuring a “free and open” Indo-Pacific, a defining factor in Washington’s continued commitment to Jakarta.

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