Foreign Minister Sugiono and Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin touched down in Beijing on Monday for the two-plus-two meeting with their Chinese counterparts Wang Yi and Dong Jun, respectively.

It was the first of its kind under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration and has been dubbed by Sugiono as a “historic” milestone that reflected the growing depth and stronger strategic trust between Beijing and Jakarta.

“The world today is undergoing profound changes not seen in the century, and is facing the severe impact of unilateralism and hegemonism. [We] once again arrive at a crossroads,” Wang Yi said in a joint press conference with Indonesia after the meeting.

“With the increasingly complex and volatile external environment, pursuing solidarity and cooperation has become more important for China and Indonesia. We agreed to follow the guidance of our heads of state, have closer level exchanges and firmly support each other’s core interests and major concerns,” he added.

Among the fields of cooperation key for Indonesia and China were enhanced law enforcement cooperation and mutual legal assistance, as well as maritime security and negotiations for the Code of Conduct (CoC) on the South China Sea, according to the two countries.

“We share concern over the growing threat of transnational crime in the region, which increasingly targets our nations. To address this, we will strengthen joint operations, intelligence exchanges and legal cooperation mechanisms,” Sugiono said.