JAKARTA: The defence ministers of Indonesia and Japan signed a cooperation agreement on Monday (May 4), Jakarta said, underlining the need to safeguard regional peace and stability in the face of global tumult.
The signing during Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s visit to Indonesia came after Tokyo had eased decades-old arms export rules last month, allowing firms to sell lethal weapons to countries with which Japan has defence agreements.
Indonesian defence ministry spokesman Rico Ricardo Sirait told AFP that the agreement was part of efforts to improve defence cooperation between the two countries.
The pact covers issues including collaboration in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, joint exercises and maritime cooperation, Rico said.
He added that it also “opens up opportunities for cooperation in defence equipment and technology” while “prioritising … regional stability”.
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto, a former general, has been pushing to modernise the country’s ageing military assets since taking office in 2024.
Koizumi earlier said that defence cooperation with Indonesia would make a “contribution to peace and stability … for the region as a whole” amid “an increasingly complex and tense international situation”.
After his talks with Indonesia’s Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin in Jakarta, Koizumi is bound for the Philippines, where Japanese forces are taking part in a joint military exercise also including the United States.