Jakarta. Indonesia is eyeing a nickel partnership with Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines, as Cebu hosts the ASEAN Summit this week.

However, partnerships will likely take place business-to-business.

Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia told reporters on Wednesday that energy security would be high up on the agenda at the forum. Bahlil confirmed President Prabowo Subianto's attendance at the gathering of Southeast Asian leaders. He went on to say that Jakarta would promote nickel use as a mainstay ingredient for electric vehicle batteries.

“One of the [ASEAN summit’s] focuses is on energy security,” Bahlil said.

Jakarta -- which is working on a comprehensive battery industry -- is opening up wider collaboration opportunities with partner countries, including Manila, according to Bahlil. But again, it will be a B2B partnership. It doesn’t necessarily take the form of direct investment, but a mutual supply mechanism for raw materials in the event of a supply shortage.

"They might be able to supply if we're short [of nickel]. If we're short of raw materials, we can source them from anywhere," Bahlil said in Jakarta.

Both Indonesia and the Philippines are in the top 10 as the home to the world’s largest nickel reserves. According to a report by the US Geological Survey, Indonesia’s nickel reserves stand at 62 metric tons, while those of the Philippines are at 4.8 million tons. Indonesia’s mine production totaled approximately 2.6 million tons in 2025, almost tenfold of the Philippines, which reached 270,000 metric tons.

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