Jakarta. Indonesia and Australia have agreed to keep their waters secure, although Jakarta promised that any activities done in this sphere would remain respectful of each other’s sovereignty.

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy stressed that its engagements with Canberra would not lead to the formation of a new military alliance.

The neighboring nations held “2+2” talks in Melbourne on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Sugiono and Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin showed up in their traditional black cap peci, a common sight in Indonesia’s present-day diplomacy. Their Australian counterparts Penny Wong and Richard Marles kicked off the talks.

A press release by the Indonesian Defense Ministry showed “maritime domain awareness” was quite front and center in the discussions.

“Indonesia and Australia agreed that maritime security yields direct benefits for both countries, including through coordinated patrols and joint drills. Indonesia stresses that such cooperation is conducted with due respect for each other’s sovereignty and jurisdiction,” the statement reads.

Strengthening the bilateral “comprehensive strategic partnership” and regional security were high up on the agenda. It sets partnerships across multiple sectors, be it defense, maritime security, conflict prevention, and even economic resilience, among others.

“This approach aims to strengthen the capacity of countries in the region to collectively address geopolitical dynamics and various strategic challenges, without forming new alliances or blocs,” the Defense Ministry wrote. 

In the publicly available transcript of the opening session, Marles had described both countries as two “maritime nations that are deeply invested in the rules-based order around the world, but within our region”. Sjafrie later made a similar remark that the Jakarta-Canberra partnership would benefit peace and stability in the shared region.

Indonesia has embraced the non-alignment principle of not siding with any military bloc. 

The 2+2 took place about some months after the countries inked the Jakarta Treaty that committed them to consult each other in the face of security challenges. Their militaries are also scheduled to hold the Keris Woomera bilateral joint drills in Banyuwangi this October, with the headcount reaching roughly 1,500 personnel. They are also working to build an international training facility in North Maluku’s Morotai, which was once a World War II military base. 

The defense ministers had a separate trilateral call with their Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, on promoting a rules-based order within the Indo-Pacific. Jakarta also signaled Japan’s possible participation in future Keris Woomera exercises.

Add as a preferred source on Google +