Jakarta. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is hoping to clinch a shipbuilding deal with Indonesia one day, as Seoul wants to beef up defense ties beyond the KF-21 fighter jet development, which is set for a mid-year completion.

South Korea — an exporter of naval vessels — has pitched a new partnership during President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to the Blue House on Wednesday. All this time, their bilateral defense partnership has lasered in on the KF-21. Jakarta had signed in as a partner on the development of this multirole fighter. As the fighter jet makes progress, South Korea now seeks to participate in modernizing the Indonesian Navy fleet.

“As we have opened up the skies of our two countries through the successful completion of our fighter aircraft joint development project …,” Lee Jae Myung said in the televised speech during a state luncheon with Prabowo.

“I hope to strengthen cooperation in shipbuilding. So our two countries can rise together as global maritime powers.”

The Korean politician also described Indonesia as a “valuable partner” to his country’s defense industry, alluding to the KF-21 deal.

Prabowo did not make a specific comment on the KF-21 or shipbuilding, at least in the publicly broadcast parts of his visit so far. However, the ex-defense minister had told his South Korean counterpart that their countries shared common interests.

“As middle powers, we have the same concerns. We both need stability and peace. But we understand that if we want [those], we must have good security and defense,” Prabowo told Lee Jae Myung during the summit earlier in the day.

The South Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has made its presence in ASEAN. It had accepted the Philippine Navy's orders for frigates and offshore patrol vessels.

The decade-old KF-21 joint program has faced some turbulence along the way. Indonesia had failed to keep up with payment deadlines. A police investigation into alleged data theft by Indonesian engineers had also caused another hurdle. However, a South Korean government statement on Prabowo’s visit wrote that the leaders had agreed that the KF-21 project would reach completion in June.

Korea Aerospace Industries is the manufacturer of this fifth-generation jet.

Prior to Prabowo’s trip, South Korean media reports claimed that his visit would culminate in a deal related to the export of 16 KF-21 jets. However, the KF-21 was not on the list of the newly signed bilateral memoranda of understanding (MoUs) that cover intellectual property protection, critical minerals, clean energy, and more. At home, the Prabowo administration does not shy away from spending money on upgrading its military. The government has earmarked around Rp 337 trillion (around $19.9 billion) for this year’s defense spending.

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