ASEAN Beat | Security | Southeast Asia

Indonesia, US Announce New Defense Partnership as Prabowo Visits Russia

Washington and Jakarta have pledged to broaden and deepen their defense partnership, but Indonesia is unlikely to abandon its non-aligned foreign policy orientation.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth hosts a bilateral meeting with Indonesia’s Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Apr. 13, 2026.

The United States and Indonesia have announced the establishment of a new defense partnership aimed at “maintaining peace and stability” in Asia, the same day that President Prabowo Subianto met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

The announcement came after Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin met with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon yesterday. In a joint statement released after the meeting, the U.S. Department of War and Indonesia’s Defense Ministry said that the Major Defense Cooperation Partnership (MDCP), as it is known, was the fruit of “decades of cooperation” and underscored “the strength and potential of the bilateral defense relationship.”

“Both countries recognize each other as important partners and reaffirm their commitment to cooperation based on mutual respect, sovereignty, and shared interest in regional peace and stability,” the statement said.

Speaking with Sjafrie, Hegseth praised Indonesia’s role in President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative, and the leading role that it has taken in the International Stabilization Force for Gaza. He said that the new MDCP “bolsters regional deterrence, and advances our shared commitment to peace through strength,” the Department of War said in a separate statement. Sjafrie responded that the Indonesian side had “very great enthusiasm to continue to develop our defense relationship.”

According to the joint statement, the MDCP is composed of three “foundational pillars”: military modernization and capacity building; training and professional military education; and exercises and operational cooperation. The two countries say they will pursue “cutting-edge initiatives” including “next-generation” maritime, subsurface, and autonomous systems technologies, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul support. In a throwback to the Suharto era, the statement said that Sjafrie and Hegseth “have also committed to enhance joint special forces training,” and to expand existing multilateral exercises, including Super Garuda Shield.

The announcement comes a day after Indonesia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that it was discussing a proposal ‌to give U.S. military aircraft access over Indonesian airspace. The confirmation came after several media outlets reported over the weekend that the U.S. was seeking “blanket overnight access” for its military aircraft through Indonesian airspace, ​according to a Reuters report, although the Ministry said that a final agreement had not yet been reached. There was no mention of U.S. overflight rights in the publicity surrounding the MDCP, although no official text of the agreement has yet been made public.

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