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.

And while this year’s Super Garuda Shield exercise was the largest multilateral military exercise to have ever been hosted by the two nations, the US defense chief said that the US sought to further expand the drills.

“For more than a decade, our forces have exercised alongside each other. We continue to expand the scope and complexity of our exercises,” he said on Monday.

Despite the reaffirmation of the two countries’ friendship, Prabowo underlined that this recent declaration was by no means a signal that Indonesia would begin to stand against China or end its weapons trade with Russia. This is a fact that has to be “respected” by all of Indonesia’s allies, including the US, he emphasized.

“Indonesia always takes the position of trying to maintain the best of relationships with all nations, especially all major powers. We have openly declared many times that we consider China to be a friendly nation,” Prabowo said, adding that any disagreements with Beijing, including on the South China Sea, would be resolved through dialogue.

“We will defend our sovereignty and independence.”

Prior to unveiling the F-15 deal with the US, Indonesia was in talks with Russia to purchase its Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, which reportedly fell through due to the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Non-aggressive approach

This is not the first time Prabowo has defended Indonesia’s nonaligned stance in the face of powerful international partners. Analysts have said that this diplomatic reaffirmation could help increase ASEAN’s bargaining power with its partners as Indonesia assumes the chairmanship of the regional collective.

Just three days before his meeting with Austin, Prabowo journeyed to Xi’an, China to herald new cooperation in military education and naval exercises after two years of a COVID-19-related hiatus. While China is not Jakarta’s usual partner vis-a-vis military cooperation, Prabowo emphasized that he sought an expansion in the two nations’ defense synergy.

“China and Indonesia have joined to elevate their bilateral relationship, advanced by cooperation in politics, economics, culture and maritime affairs,” Chinese Defense Minister Wei Feng Hei was quoted as saying in an Indonesian ministry statement on Friday.

Fitriani, an international relations expert from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told The Jakarta Post on Monday that Prabowo’s defense diplomacy approach would not only benefit Indonesia but also the region in general.

“Prabowo certainly ought to be active with the superpower countries. The problems in ASEAN will be difficult to resolve without their help,” Fitri suggested.

After all, she said, the superpowers made up most of ASEAN’s weapon supplies, and as the 2023 chair of the ASEAN Defense Minister Meeting (ADMM), Prabowo would have to win over the bloc’s dialogue partners. On top of China and the US, the ADMM’s dialogue partners also include Russia, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Japan.

There have also been suggestions that Prabowo might be helpful in resolving internal ASEAN struggles such as the Myanmar coup crisis, although analysts are doubtful he could play a larger role in tackling a defiant junta – they say the Foreign Ministry’s task of facilitating peace in Myanmar is non-transferable to the Defense Ministry.

“I don’t think that it will be part of Indonesia’s strategy to feature Prabowo in resolving the Myanmar issue,” said Lina Alexandra, head of the CSIS’s international relations department. ASEAN has faced criticism for appointing junta-led Myanmar to chair the ASEAN Air Chiefs Meeting.

Military expert Beni Sukadis tended to agree, saying that Prabowo’s recent focus on diplomacy was unlikely to translate to ASEAN possibly taking a more aggressive approach in tackling non-traditional threats such as cross-border trafficking or a military coup d’etat.

However, his efforts can still arguably benefit the region.

“Prabowo’s focus revolved around practical multilateral cooperation. This includes disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, counter-terrorism, medical supplies and maritime security in Southeast Asia. This, of course, is done based on ASEAN principles,” Beni said on Monday.

Popular

Start-up scandals in 2025 force investors to raise the bar, change playbooks

Undoing democratic reform

Yearender: Civil movements take center stage in 2025