Jakarta. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recently revealed that Indonesia would back the proposed Gaza international stabilization force.

The defense chiefs of ASEAN members and the bloc’s partners are in Kuala Lumpur for a two-day security summit. On Friday, Hegseth spent the day meeting with one Southeast Asian minister after another, including Indonesia’s Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, as Washington sought to grow its regional influence.

US President Donald Trump recently pitched the idea of deploying a temporary and multinational stabilization force to Gaza as part of a 20-point peace plan. This International Stabilization Force (ISF) will train Palestinian police in Gaza, and according to Hegseth, the proposal has earned Indonesia’s backing. Hegseth made the comment during a press briefing with Sjafrie, as seen in a video uploaded on the latter’s social media the following day.

Hegseth initially said that Indonesia and the US had built a “longstanding” security relationship. The Pentagon chief went on to talk of the ISF and Jakarta's support.

“I want to thank you for your leadership on the International Stability and Security Force in Gaza, which you have leaned forward on. We are in partnership with you on your commitment to advancing President Trump's vision for lasting peace following the historic peace deal that he brokered," Hegseth said.

Speaking right after Hegseth, Sjafrie did not comment on the ISF, including on whether Jakarta would send some troops. Their social media posts on the meeting also did not explicitly mention the deployment, although Hegseth revealed that he was looking forward to welcoming Sjafrie at the Pentagon “soon”.

Trump's peace plan stated that the ISF would be open to both Washington’s Arab as well as international partners. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to secure the border areas along with the newly trained Palestinian police forces. The team seeks to prevent arms from entering Gaza, while securing the flow of goods to rebuild the war-torn enclave. All parties will also agree on a deconfliction mechanism.

Trump has brokered a fragile ceasefire that saw Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas exchanging captives. Despite the truce, the Israeli army had carried out air strikes across Gaza. 

President Prabowo Subianto has repeatedly offered to deploy peacekeepers to Gaza. 

Learn from the US War Department

At the briefing, Sjafrie gave his word that Jakarta would “prioritize” pursuing stronger defense cooperation with Washington.

“[So] we, Indonesia, can learn a lot from the US forces and its Ministry of War. This is our commitment,” Sjafrie said, which made Hegseth giggle.

The meeting zeroed in on the multinational military exercise, Super Garuda Shield. Every year, soldiers from Indonesia, the US, and a dozen other nations train together for two weeks. The location changes every time, but it usually takes place in an Indonesian city across the archipelago. The drills started out with just Indonesian and American troops back in 2006, before they invited other nations such as Japan and Australia, in 2022. Hegseth signalled that Washington would like to continue the Super Garuda Shield, which he said, to have shown the countries’ “growing resolve and shared strength”.

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