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New Delhi: India and Indonesia on Tuesday (July 7) elevated defence cooperation by agreeing to cooperate on the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Jakarta, formalising discussions that the two sides have pursued for almost eight years.

Modi had previously visited Indonesia twice for multilateral summits, but this was his first standalone bilateral visit since 2018. It followed President Prabowo Subianto’s own state visit to India in January 2025, when he was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade.

Besides the agreement on cooperation over the BrahMos missile system, the two sides also announced cooperation on Astra air-to-air missiles, critical minerals, maritime security and digital payments, while agreeing to continue work on the long-pending Sabang port project in Aceh.

“The growing trust between our two countries is strengthening our cooperation in defence, security and the maritime domain. Today, we agreed to further enhance collaboration in defence exchanges, disaster management and industrial cooperation,” Modi said after talks with Prabowo.

Prabowo similarly underlined that the two sides had agreed “to increase security cooperation through the third India-Indonesia Security Dialogue” and deepen cooperation on capacity-building, digital infrastructure and maritime security.

Indonesia first expressed interest in the missile around 2018. By 2022, Indian media were reporting that a BrahMos team had visited an Indonesian shipyard to study fitting the weapon to Indonesian warships. Indonesia’s navy chief, Admiral Muhammad Ali, revived the matter with his Indian counterpart at Cilangkap in December 2024, though it stayed off the joint statement issued after Prabowo’s visit to India the following month.

In March this year, Indonesian defence ministry spokesperson Rico Ricardo Sirait said Jakarta had finalised procurement of the BrahMos system as part of efforts to modernise coastal defence and strengthen deterrence, although financing and implementation details remained undisclosed.

Asked repeatedly during the media briefing about the value of the BrahMos agreement and delivery timelines, secretary (east) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Rudrendra Tandon said commercial arrangements were not discussed by the leaders.

“Yes, BrahMos was discussed. It is an important part of the industry-to-industry collaboration that the two leaders are trying to develop … However, commercial agreements are not really discussed at the highest level. Those are left for the companies to sort out,” he said.

Vietnam and the Philippines had already signed their own BrahMos deals, making Indonesia the third country to do so.

For Indonesia, the interest in BrahMos is tied to a broader effort to modernise its armed forces and strengthen maritime deterrence. As the world’s largest archipelagic state, Indonesia must secure major maritime choke points including the Malacca, Sunda, Lombok and Makassar straits, through which 40% of the world’s sea trade flows.

Analysts have also argued that procuring BrahMos would diversify Jakarta’s defence suppliers as it balances relationships with Western, Russian and Asian partners.

Even the reception accorded to Modi upon reaching Indonesian airspace reflected that balancing instinct. The F-16 and Sukhoi-30 that escorted his aircraft........

© The Wire