India and Indonesia have expanded their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, placing defence and maritime cooperation at the centre of a broad agenda that also covers trade, critical minerals, digital connectivity, healthcare, energy, space and multilateral coordination.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-day State Visit to Indonesia from 6-8 July, at the invitation of President Prabowo Subianto, resulted in a series of agreements aimed at strengthening political engagement, defence-industrial collaboration, economic integration and regional cooperation across the Indo-Pacific.
Defence Partnership Takes Centre Stage
Defence emerged as the most consequential pillar of the visit, with both sides agreeing to elevate military ties beyond exercises and dialogue to joint production, technology transfer, and defence-industrial cooperation.
The two leaders welcomed the elevation of defence ties through cooperation on the BrahMos missile system and an Air-to-Air Missile Cooperation Agreement, paving the way for deeper collaboration on advanced weapon systems.
They agreed to expand cooperation across traditional and emerging defence sectors, including regular defence dialogues, joint military exercises, staff talks, joint research, co-production of defence technologies, peacekeeping, hydrography, capacity building, cadet exchanges and defence industrial cooperation.
India and Indonesia also agreed to strengthen collaboration in shipbuilding, establish maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities for common defence platforms, explore defence research and development partnerships, enhance defence supply chains and expand technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives.
Maritime security featured prominently in the discussions. The two countries renewed their Memorandum of Understanding on Maritime Safety and Security Cooperation and concluded an implementing arrangement between Indonesia's maritime security agency BAKAMLA and the Indian Coast Guard.
Both leaders reaffirmed cooperation in maritime domain awareness, coastal surveillance, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, pollution control and search and rescue operations. They also welcomed Indonesia's decision to position an International Liaison Officer at the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram.
The two sides agreed to continue discussions on maritime issues in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), while reaffirming support for a free, open, peaceful and rules-based Indo-Pacific.
Vanshika Saraf, Research Analyst at The Takshashila Institution, said the relationship has evolved considerably, with the defence partnership now entering a more substantive phase.
"The security relationship has come a long way. The BrahMos missile deal has been in the making for several years now. Hence, the finalisation of the deal is good news for India's defence industry and its profile as an exporter of advanced military platforms," she said.
"The centre of gravity in the relationship is certainly the maritime domain. This is quite natural because of geography. When both countries talk about working together on maritime safety and security, it should be understood at two levels. At the operational level, it means cooperation on search and rescue, crime prevention and disaster response. At the strategic level, it means maintaining open sea lanes, ensuring freedom of navigation and preventing coercive behaviour at sea."
She added that the defence partnership has moved beyond symbolic cooperation.
"This cooperation is significant because it elevates the relationship from defence dialogues and exercises toward actual capability transfer and defence-industrial cooperation. The BrahMos deal will be a major upgrade in Indonesia's anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities."
Dias P.S. Mahayasa, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, said the expanding relationship is being driven by institutional mechanisms rather than individual leaders.
"India-Indonesia relations keep rising, and institutions built before Modi and Prabowo took office drive most of that rise. The Defence Ministers Dialogue, the Security Dialogue between national security advisors, and the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee do the real work," he said.
According to Mahayasa, the two leaders have accelerated existing cooperation rather than fundamentally changing its direction.
"The Modi-Prabowo relationship speeds up defence cooperation because it works through channels that already exist. Their leadership styles add a visible layer on top of this process. India still treats Indonesia as a key partner under the Act East Policy, while Indonesia continues to follow its long-standing Free and Active doctrine."
He added that although defence agreements such as BrahMos and Astra receive considerable attention, both countries continue to prioritise strategic autonomy rather than forming a formal alliance.
Expanding Economic Partnership
Alongside defence, the two countries sought to deepen economic integration by accelerating the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) while pursuing broader bilateral trade engagement.
Both leaders agreed to strengthen existing trade mechanisms to improve market access, address tariff and non-tariff barriers, facilitate investment and expand cooperation in finance, the digital economy and resilient supply chains.
Critical minerals emerged as another priority area. Recognising Indonesia's importance as a global supplier of nickel and other strategic minerals, the two countries agreed to strengthen collaboration on rare earths and diversified supply chains.
They welcomed an MoU involving the Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre, Midwest Ltd and Indonesia's PERMINAS, alongside another agreement on steel supply chains. The leaders also endorsed a strategic joint venture between the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and PT Krakatau Steel to explore establishing a stainless-steel slab manufacturing facility in Indonesia.
Saraf said the economic relationship increasingly reflects concerns around supply-chain resilience.
"The relationship is also expanding into the economic security domain. Indonesia is a major supplier of nickel, which is essential to India's steel industry and clean energy ambitions. Indonesia's restrictive rules on raw material exports have prompted India to explore investments in processing plants within the island nation. A stainless-steel slab-making joint venture between SAIL and Indonesia's Krakatau Steel is a welcome development."
The two countries also welcomed progress towards operationalising local currency trade between the Reserve Bank of India and Bank Indonesia, which is expected to facilitate bilateral trade and investment while deepening financial integration.
Connectivity, Technology and Regional Cooperation
Infrastructure and connectivity also featured prominently, with Indonesia welcoming India's interest in developing Sabang Port. The proposed partnership spans cruise tourism, shipbuilding, marine industries and offshore energy support services, while improving connectivity between India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Indonesia's Sumatra.
The two countries also advanced digital cooperation through Indonesia's Open Network based on India's Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) architecture, alongside progress on cross-border QR payment linkage and a new agreement on telecommunications technologies.
In healthcare, both sides signed implementation arrangements for professional health workforce development and expanded cooperation on pharmaceuticals, medical product regulation, food safety, agriculture, fertilisers and energy security, including collaboration in liquefied natural gas (LNG), green hydrogen, bioenergy and solar energy.
Space cooperation also received renewed momentum. The two leaders extended the framework agreement on peaceful uses of outer space, reaffirmed support for India's Gaganyaan mission and welcomed cooperation on satellite launches, training and Indonesia's proposed spaceport project.
On regional and global issues, India and Indonesia reiterated support for United Nations Security Council reforms, stronger Global South cooperation and Indonesia's backing for India's 2026 BRICS chairmanship. Both sides reaffirmed support for ASEAN centrality, freedom of navigation, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS.
The two leaders also strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms, called for zero tolerance towards terror financing and reaffirmed cooperation through the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat terrorism. |
