India, Indonesia strengthen military ties amid shared security concerns
Gusty Da Costa
Indian defense officials and military vessels visited Indonesia recently in a demonstration of the nations’ determination to enhance defense ties in the face of shared security concerns about the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Two Indian Navy ships and two Indian Coast Guard vessels arrived in Indonesia in October 2023 for training, professional interactions, partnership exercises and pollution response demonstrations. The engagements, which ran from October 10-14, also involved personnel from Indonesia’s Navy and Coast Guard. The port visits coincided with a meeting in Jakarta between Vice Adm. MA Hampiholi of India’s Southern Naval Command and Air Marshal Donny Ermawan Taufanto, secretary general of Indonesia’s Defense Ministry.
Weeks earlier, Indonesian Deputy Defense Minister Muhammad Herindra met with a delegation of China experts from India led by retired Indian Army Lt. Gen. YK Joshi. They discussed defense and security production and services, defense industry cooperation, and officer education, among other topics, Indonesia’s Defense Ministry reported.
Defense cooperation between the two countries is vital, retired Indonesian Army Maj. Gen. Jan Pieter Ate told FORUM.
“If we look at the regional situation in the security dimension, India has a border conflict with China. Indonesia also has the same in the North Natuna Sea,” he said. “Their common concern, however, is the security and stability of the Indian Ocean because Indonesia and India are countries that directly affect the peace and stability of the Indian Ocean.”
The countries’ maritime border stretches about 500 kilometers between India’s Nicobar Islands and the island of Sumatra in western Indonesia.
Jakarta and New Delhi are concerned about a chain of eight ports being developed by Beijing in Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Africa, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as in China’s island province of Hainan, Nikolaus Loy, an international relations expert at UPN “Veteran” University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, told FORUM. The ports are being equipped for commercial and military use and could enable Beijing to hinder freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean region.
Given such concerns, India and Indonesia “are developing a multidirectional strategy to see the possibilities on which side defense capabilities can be improved,” Loy said.
This includes regular engagements such as the India-Indonesia Security Dialogue, the biennial Defence Ministers’ Dialogue, staff-level talks between the nations’ air forces and navies, and the two armies’ annual joint exercise Garuda Shakti, according to the Indian Embassy in Jakarta.
“There is a clear upward trend in attempts to augment cooperation in the area of defense industry also,” the embassy stated, referring to agreements related to ground vehicles and advanced electronics, including radar.
Joint education activities are particularly important for strengthening defense bonds, said Teuku Rezasyah, an international relations lecturer at Indonesia’s Padjadjaran University. He cited the participation of Indian military personnel at Indonesian Air Force, Army and Navy educational institutions, where he also teaches.
“They are active participants,” he told FORUM. “It is good that we invite them, and they also invite us. Thus, it can be seen that our attitude towards India is friendly.”
Gusty Da Costa is a FORUM contributor reporting from Jakarta, Indonesia.
