NEW DELHI: After talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on Tuesday, India and Indonesia announced 20 outcomes, including the latter procuring BrahMos cruise missiles and Astra air-to-air missiles from New Delhi — a deal worth over $600 million.
The two sides also agreed to explore ways to revive the stalled plan to jointly develop Indonesia’s Sabang Port, which is less than 100 nautical miles from Indira Point, the southernmost tip of India’s Nicobar Islands, and committed to increased cooperation between their respective coast guards.
Both the countries signed agreements across an array of sectors, including strengthening cooperation in critical minerals, election management, health, education, digital infrastructure, food security, and steel manufacturing. Modi and Subianto called for a timely conclusion of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) review for a balanced and mutually beneficial trade environment.
The overarching theme of the discussions between the two leaders, their subsequent press statements, and the bilateral agreements was an effort to deepen their defence and maritime security ties to ensure peace in the Indo-Pacific region. Modi’s visit to Indonesia is the first leg of his three-nation tour. He is scheduled to visit Australia and New Zealand as well. His visit to the three countries comes amid growing Chinese assertiveness in the region.
On Monday, China tested a nuclear submarine-fired ballistic missile in the Pacific. It coincided with Modi embarking on this three-nation tour, and Australian PM Anthony Albanese travelling to Fiji to sign the “Vuvale Union”, a mutual defence treaty, with his Fijian counterpart. Australia already has similar pacts with Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Nauru, and Indonesia. Australia criticised the Chinese missile test as “destabilising for the region”. New Zealand cautioned against a potentially “recurring pattern by China”, and the Philippines termed it “a reckless display of military power that shows little regard for smaller countries”. The Philippines will host a meeting of the Quad foreign ministers later this month. The Chinese missile test is only its third publicly known launch of a long-range ballistic missile into the Pacific since 1949. It conducted its first such test in 1980 and the second in 2024.
In his press statement after his discussions with the Indonesian President in Jakarta, Modi described their meeting and the pacts inked as the “beginning of a golden new chapter in the India-Indonesia partnership”. Coast guards of the two countries will now work together to enhance maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean, Modi said, adding that there is “strong synergy” in India and Indonesia’s “respective outlooks on the Indo-Pacific”. Addressing the Indonesian Parliament later in the day, Modi said India pursues a path of development, not expansionism. “India is a strong advocate of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. India believes in freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific,” he said. In this context, Modi underlined India’s MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision.
Outcomes that the two sides announced included Indonesia stationing its international liaison officer at the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR). The IFC-IOR is a maritime security and information-sharing hub established by India in 2018, and it is hosted by the Indian Navy at Gurugram, Haryana. Modi and Subianto identified collaboration in defence industry and technology as one of the priority areas of cooperation.
Pacts signed included strengthening cooperation in critical minerals and rare earth magnets, and a joint venture between Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and PT Krakatau Steel to explore the establishment of a stainless-steel slab manufacturing facility in Indonesia. They also included efforts to operationalise guidelines on local currency transaction (LCT) between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Bank Indonesia, and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, setting up a branch campus at Indonesia’s Singhaseri SEZ. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will help restore Yogyakarta’s Prambanan Temple Complex, India will supply 100 tonnes of high-quality DWR 162 wheat seeds to Indonesia, India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will be integrated with Indonesia’s payment system, and the Election Commission of India (ECI) will assist the General Elections Commission of Indonesia in developing Indonesia-specific electronic voting machines.
The Indonesian President welcomed India’s interest in jointly developing Sabang Port to boost digital, physical, and institutional connectivity, while easing the movement of people and trade between Sumatra and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Modi and Subianto spoke of increasing cooperation through the trilateral mechanism of India-Indonesia-Australia.
Modi was also conferred with the “Bintang Adipurna of the Republic of Indonesia” medal of honour by Subianto. The award is Indonesia’s highest civilian honour.
Source: Business Standard / The Pioneer
