Indonesia seeks expanded joint military exercises with China

Beijing agrees on technology transfer, defense industry cooperation with Jakarta

ISMI DAMAYANTI and REZHA HADYAN

August 21, 2026 14:12 JST

JAKARTA -- Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin called for broader and more intensive joint military exercises with China during a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Dong Jun, in Jakarta on Friday.

The two defense ministers also agreed on defense technology transfer and the joint development of munitions factories in Indonesia.

Sjamsoeddin told a joint news conference that he proposed the two nations "increase joint training, strengthen military education and expand personnel exchanges to include not only officers but also noncommissioned officers and enlisted personnel."

Later in the day, he separately told reporters that China had agreed to expand defense industry cooperation with Indonesia.

"This includes cooperation on developing factories for ammunition, missiles, rockets and other products that we haven't manufactured yet," Sjamsoeddin said. "China will support us through technology transfer so that we can jointly build these factories in Indonesia."

He added that production will begin next year, involving Indonesian state-owned defense companies, Pindad and Len Industri.

Dong said Indonesia and China "can work together to accelerate the modernization of our defense systems, build a strong security foundation for our countries' development, and bring greater stability and certainty to an increasingly dynamic and rapidly changing world."

He was in Jakarta for the second "two-plus-two" dialogue involving the Indonesian and Chinese foreign and defense ministers. The inaugural meeting was held in Beijing last year.

Dong met with Sjamsoeddin, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with counterpart Sugiono, then all four gathered together in the afternoon. The meetings come a week after the two countries' navies conducted a navigation exercise in waters east of Taiwan, one of several China has held recently near the self-governing island that it claims as part of its territory.

China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that warships from both countries sailed in formation and carried out drills involving communications, formation maneuvers and supply replenishment.

The Indonesian Navy later clarified that the interaction was a passing exercise conducted as the frigate KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai returned from Vladivostok, Russia, where it took part in the bilateral Orruda exercise with the Russian Navy.

"A passing exercise is not war-fighting. It is an internationally recognized naval tradition conducted when ships pass through another country's waters," the Indonesian Navy said in a statement last week.

Sjamsoeddin also cited Heping Garuda, a joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise held by the two countries in late 2024, as an example of concrete bilateral military cooperation. He said the next Heping Garuda exercise will be held in Sumatra in September or October. The Defense Ministry in Jakarta said in a news statement Friday that Indonesia "hopes to expand such activities to strengthen the capabilities and interoperability of the two militaries."

Dong welcomed Sjamsoeddin's call, pointing to the two countries' shared interest in maintaining security and advancing development. "We share the same responsibility, and now is the right time to strengthen our defense cooperation," Dong said at the news conference. He said military ties between the two countries had broad prospects and should continue to improve.

"We will jointly thwart the ill intentions of foreign powers, set an example for Global South countries and establish a new model of cooperation in the defense sector," Dong said, without specifying the foreign powers he was referring to.

Dong also described the Indonesian and Chinese armed forces as guardians of regional stability.

"Focusing on cooperation and security within the ASEAN framework, we will contribute positively to regional stability, prevent actions that could disrupt the international order established after the Second World War and promote peace, security and prosperity through constructive cooperation," he said.

Indonesia has for decades tried to forge nonaligned foreign and defense policies, balancing ties with both Beijing and Washington.

Indonesia and the U.S. are set to host the annual Super Garuda Shield military exercise next week in several regions of the Southeast Asian country, including West Java and South Sumatra. Fifteen countries are expected to participate in the 12-day exercise, which will include combat drills, air assault operations and amphibious deployments.

Shinji Yamaguchi, senior fellow and China expert at Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies, said the strengthening Indonesia-China ties should be seen in the context of a "backlash" against the policy of U.S. President Donald Trump, "especially on the Middle East."

"China is counting on this situation as an opportunity to capitalize on the opponent's error," he said, as it has been pushing hard to expand the mutual relationship to various fields.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto "has been putting more weight on autonomous and independent diplomacy," Yamaguchi said, which is not bad in itself, but results in "previously unthinkable" decisions, such as holding a joint military drill with China off the coast of Taiwan. "I doubt whether there were deep considerations on what the strategic message is going to be to others, including Japan," he said, describing the move as having "backfired."

Asked about Dong's "foreign powers" remarks, Sjamsoeddin told local reporters: "He has his own views that he brought with him. But we have to assess them against the realities in our own country."

Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono said after the "two-plus-two" meeting that it discussed cooperation in a broader range of sectors including the economy, politics, education, social and cultural affairs.

Meanwhile, the White House recently released a report accusing Chinese exporters of routing goods through more than 40 jurisdictions to evade U.S. tariffs. The report identified Indonesia as a significant transshipment hub, an allegation Jakarta has denied.

The Chinese and Indonesian foreign ministers said they discussed a 2027-2031 bilateral action plan to succeed the current 2022-2026 plan, and "agreed to revitalize strategic cooperation mechanisms in trade, energy and minerals, while establishing new mechanisms in areas including quarantine and artificial intelligence."

Additional reporting by Kenji Kawase in Tokyo