Maritime security threats prompt renewed Indonesian-Philippine partnerships
Gusty Da Costa
Countering shared security threats — including piracy, terrorism, transnational crime, and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing — underpins the recent agreement to renew security pacts between Indonesia and the Philippines, analysts say. Closer defense cooperation between the Indo-Pacific neighbors parallels increased defense industry collaboration to bolster critical infrastructure in the Philippines.
Jakarta and Manila agreed in early September 2022 to renew and upgrade their Defense and Security Cooperation Agreement (DSCA) first signed in 1997, as well as their Revised Border Crossing Agreement and Border Patrol Agreement, which date to 1975.
Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and Jose Faustino Jr., officer-in-charge of the Philippine National Defense Department, signed the agreement during Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s state visit to Indonesia. The DSCA’s renewal will strengthen the nations’ longtime defense collaboration by providing a framework for cooperation, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA). (Pictured: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., left, and Indonesian President Joko Widodo review an honor guard in Bogor, Indonesia, in September 2022.)
“Both countries have a strategic need to improve maritime and shipping security in the waters adjacent to their borders,” Mohammad Abdi Suhufan, national coordinator of Destructive Fishing Watch Indonesia, a nongovernmental organization, told FORUM. “As a result, both countries have identified real threats in border waters that require attention.”
In addition to piracy and IUU fishing, the threats include kidnapping of fishermen by violent extremists and illicit trade, he said. Under the renewals, according to PNA, expanded defense collaboration is expected in areas including joint and combined training exercises, border security, visitation exchanges, information sharing and interoperability.
“From the Indonesian side, the Philippines must be a strategic partner in achieving Indonesia’s political objectives in the region, including assisting Indonesia in fulfilling Philippine defense needs and developing Indonesian defense industries through trading partnerships,” Khairul Fahmi, a military expert at Jakarta’s Institute for Security and Strategic Studies, told FORUM.
Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL is set to build two 123-meter-long landing platform dock (LPD) vessels for the Philippine Navy, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said following his September meeting with Marcos. PT PAL built the Philippine Navy’s two current LPDs, which were commissioned in 2016 and 2017. Widodo said he hoped the Philippine Air Force would soon procure two NC212i transport aircraft from Indonesian aerospace firm PT Dirgantara Indonesia.
Marcos, meanwhile, thanked Indonesia for helping develop infrastructure in the Philippines and expressed hope for further bilateral cooperation.
Widodo also announced the renewal of the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA) among Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. First signed in 2016, the TCA launched joint maritime patrols in the Sulu and Celebes seas by the nations’ armed forces.
Kidnappings for ransom in those waters have dropped significantly since the patrols began, from 10 attacks and six attempted attacks in 2016 to none in 2021, according to Safety4Sea, a Greece-based shipping and maritime news website.
Jakarta and Manila have signed more than 20 defense and security agreements since establishing diplomatic relations in 1949, according to Jakarta-based defense analyst Dr. Chester Cabalza.
“The stability of the Indo-Pacific region is a shared responsibility,” Suhufan noted. “Therefore, it is expected that efforts to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the defense sector will contribute to the strength of the Indo-Pacific region since both countries share a common outlook on internal and external threats.”
Gusty Da Costa is a FORUM contributor reporting from Indonesia.
IMAGE CREDIT: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
