India, Indonesia bolster defense ties, maritime security cooperation
FORUM Staff
India and Indonesia are boosting defense and maritime security cooperation, including New Delhi providing its BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system to Jakarta. The announcement came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta in July 2026.
“We’re two of the largest democracies in the world,” Prabowo said. “Partnerships between us will bring benefits to the region.”
The BrahMos, which is codeveloped by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation, can be launched from air, land and sea. Interest in the missile has grown since India used the weapon system in combat for the first time in its conflict with Pakistan in 2025. The agreement with Indonesia is valued at $630 million, according to the Reuters news service. New Delhi also has agreed to provide the BrahMos to the Philippines and Vietnam.
Indonesian firm Republikorp and India-based Bharat Dynamics, meanwhile, agreed to a deal on Astra air-to-air missiles, making Indonesia the first foreign customer for the beyond-visual-range armament. The missiles can be integrated on Indonesian Air Force fighter jets, Reuters reported. The agreement significantly expands India’s defense industry.
The weapons deals signal the emergence of a durable defense partnership that benefits both nations, The Diplomat magazine reported. For Indonesia, the deal is consistent with its desire to avoid overdependence on China or other nations for its defense procurements, while it also enhances India’s role as a defense industrial partner for Southeast Asian nations.
“Securing Indonesia as the first export market for Astra marks a breakthrough for India in a highly competitive, niche area, allowing New Delhi to position itself as a serious defense exporter and effectively opening the door for future defense sales to the wider [Southeast Asian] market,” Dinakar Peri, a Carnegie India security studies fellow, told The Diplomat.
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India and Indonesia signed 14 agreements covering critical minerals, defense, economics and maritime security. According to a joint statement, Modi and Prabowo “reaffirmed their strong commitment to further enhance and broaden the defense and maritime partnership.”
The leaders also noted that Indonesia posted its first liaison officer to the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), a multinational maritime domain awareness center hosted by the Indian Navy. The IFC-IOR shares data on commercial shipping, including to develop a common maritime picture for partner navies.
The IFC-IOR hosts officers from 17 countries, including Indo-Pacific partners Australia, Japan, the Maldives, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United States. It also is connected to 28 countries through information-sharing arrangements. Working alongside Indian Navy personnel, the liaison officers improve coordination during maritime incidents and strengthen collective maritime domain awareness.
“Our partnership is not merely a relationship between two countries, it is a pledge of trust in the stability in the Indo-Pacific,” Modi told the Indonesian Parliament.
