During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jakarta, India and Indonesia strengthened their defense relationship as India and Indonesia signed two agreements showing the intention in principle to purchase the BrahMos supersonic missile launched from India with a range of 300 km, and the Astra missile, which has a visual range exceeding 100 km.
India and Indonesia have also decided to jointly develop the port of Sabang-Aceh, which is located at the mouth of the vital Strait of Malacca and is just 160 kilometers from India’s Great Nicobar Project, which includes a transshipment hub in Campbell Bay. With more than 23 million barrels of oil and trade worth an estimated US$3-7 trillion passing through this narrow channel, the Sabang Port will make the choke point safer than any non-governmental or government players in the region.
While the government is keeping mum on defense deals, Indonesia had initial plans to purchase one BrahMos battery along with 12 missiles at a cost of US$100 million, but today an agreement was signed for two batteries of missiles at a total cost of US$200 million. Indonesia has also decided to purchase the Astra missile, which has already been integrated into Indian Su-30 MKI fighters. While the quantity of the Astra missiles is still to be determined, the air-to-air weapon will be integrated into Indonesia’s SU-30 Mark 1 and 2 fighter fleet. It is understood that cost negotiations as well as contract details will be conducted soon by the Ministry of Defence.
Since 2014, the Narendra Modi government has focused on deepening ties with Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world. Given that Jakarta does not want to get caught up in the competition between the US and China in the South China Sea, it has traded ties with India as Washington now wants to deal with Beijing on a one-on-one basis. Indonesia is so important in Southeast Asia that all the choke points or entry routes into the South China Sea – Malacca, Sunda, Lombok and Ombi-Wetar – lie within its territory. While the Coast Guard Agreement has been signed between the two countries, India and Indonesia will cooperate in the near future to contribute to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.
