Jakarta. Indonesia has thanked Australia for being transparent with its plans to acquire nuclear submarines under the United States-backed security partnership AUKUS, according to a joint statement. 

The close neighbors held a meeting of their foreign and defense ministers, a format often referred to as the 2+2 talks, in Canberra on Thursday. Indonesia’s Foreign  Minister Sugiono and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong attended the discussions. They were joined by the defense ministers -- Indonesia’s Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Australia’s Richard Marles.

A joint statement issued by the Australian government on Friday revealed that their meeting had touched on Canberra’s intention to acquire nuclear-powered submarines via the AUKUS. This is a three-way pact involving Australia, the UK, and the US -- the latter two will help Canberra acquire, operate, and eventually build nuclear-powered submarines. This is Australia’s biggest-ever defense project, setting a price tag of A$368 billion (around $240 billion) that the country will pay over three decades. 

“Indonesian ministers expressed their appreciation to Australia for its efforts in maintaining transparency regarding its acquisition of conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines in the context of AUKUS,” the joint statement reads. 

The earlier part of the 42-point statement wrote that the two countries had sought a “world without nuclear weapons”.  They also expressed “strong support” for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its mandate to uphold the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Jakarta also updated Canberra on how it had ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons last year.

A transcript of the meeting showed that Sugiono had told the Australian officials that it was of Indonesia’s “national interest to be close to our neighbors”. Wong said that the two countries shared an interest “in a region which is peaceful, stable, and prosperous”.

In June, the US launched a review of the AUKUS nuclear pact to make sure that it fits the “America First” agenda. The three countries made the pact in 2021, during which US President Donald Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden was still in power. Australia announced in July that it paid A$800 million in the second installment of the nuclear subs deal, following an initial $500 million paid earlier this year. This defense pact is believed to be aimed at countering China.

In 2023, then-President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that ASEAN should view AUKUS as a partner, not a competitor. Indonesia was at the helm of the Southeast Asian bloc that year. However, his diplomat Derry Aman later clarified that ASEAN had not established any formal dialogue with AUKUS, although the ten-member group had partnered with the treaty’s individual members. In November 2021, then-Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto -- who has now become Jokowi’s successor -- said that he understood the reasons behind the AUKUS pact.

“Every country will do what they can to protect their national interests if they feel threatened,” Prabowo told a defense forum in Bahrain at the time.