Indonesia’s Defense Minister, US Indo-Pacific Commander Discuss South China Sea Issue, Russia-Ukraine War

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John Aquilino discussed various issues, including the dynamics of the South China Sea and Russia-Ukraine war on Monday, March 21 in Jakarta.

“They discussed the modernization of defense such as training and education under the defense cooperation between the US and Indonesia, issues and challenges in the South China Sea, US strategy in the Indo-Pacific region in 2022, and developments in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” said a statement from Indonesia’s ministry of defense.

Prabowo expressed his appreciation to the US Indo-Pacific Command for its assistance to Indonesia in defense and humanitarian. This included aid to alleviate the impact of earthquakes in Aceh and Padang on Sumatera island, as well as in locating the KRI Nanggala 402 submarine that went missing in the waters off Bali last year.

Also read: Indonesia Invites US to Invest in Trans-Sumatera Toll Road

Indonesia and the US have established defense cooperation since 1950. In October 2020, both nations agreed to enhance defense cooperation in various fields, including education and training for Indonesian military (TNI) personnel at several military educational institutions in the US.

The Indonesia-US defense cooperation covers bilateral dialogs and consultations on the issues of common security, human resources development, maritime security capacity development, logistics and supplies, maritime cooperation, joint research and development, personnel professionalism, peacekeeping training, humanitarian assistance, disaster mitigation, and handling of transnational threats.

Aquilino also met the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief General Andika Perkasa. “Today’s activity discussed how to strengthen better joint forces so that the US and Indonesia can carry out joint operations,” Aquilino said after the meeting on Monday in Jakarta.

(Writer: Achmad Nasrudin Yahya | Editor: Dani Prabowo)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2022/03/22/09555491/prabowo-bertemu-komandan-komando-indo-pasifik-as-bahas-dinamika-lcs-konflik.