Jakarta. A senior French military official said Tuesday that Paris didn’t want to force Indonesia into ordering more of its warplanes, citing Indonesia’s autonomy over how it beefs up its airpower.

The French Air Force has deployed four of its Rafale fighter jets, three A330 Phoenix refueling aircraft, and two A400M Atlas airlifters to Indonesia as part of the major military exercise 2026 Pégase. These aircraft will travel up to 40,000 kilometers around the world, making 9 stopovers as part of Paris’ aerial diplomacy. They are currently in Indonesia, which recently added the Rafales and the A400Ms to its graying fleet. 

Julien Sabéné, the commander of the 2026 Pégase, denied that the mission sought to persuade Indonesia to buy more French military planes amid Jakarta’s massive acquisition program.

“Indonesia is a sovereign country. We respect [that]. We are very happy that Indonesia has decided to buy French aircraft because we know and like them. They are nice-looking,” Sabéné told the press at the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base.

Sabéné went on to say that France doesn’t mind if Indonesia procures its planes from other countries. 

“There is no pressure on Indonesian friends. They will buy the best aircraft that they [find] appropriate for their missions,” Sabéné said, although he acknowledged that operating a Rafale could mean better interoperability.

“But if they decide to go for another aircraft, they [Indonesia] are a sovereign country, just like us [France]. We will find ways to operate together.”

Indonesia currently operates two A400Ms under a 2021 contract with the European aerospace firm Airbus. Last November, President Prabowo Subianto signaled intentions of buying “four more units”. The Defense Ministry later clarified that Jakarta had yet to come to a final decision on further expanding its A400M fleet as of April.

The Southeast Asian country has ordered 42 units of the Rafale fighter jets made by the French airplane maker Dassault Aviation as part of an $8.1 billion deal. The first six units joined the Indonesian Air Force. This Rafale contract also made Indonesia the biggest French arms client in the region.

At home, Indonesia is not stingy when it comes to the Defense Ministry. Its budget reaches around Rp 187 trillion (almost $10.5 billion) this year, making the ministry among the largest spenders. The country decided to raise the cap to Rp 189 trillion (close to $10.6 billion) next year.

Despite the ministry’s deep pockets, Prabowo recently told a hand-picked media interview session that his administration had not spent enough on defense.

He estimated that Indonesia’s defense spending only reached 0.9% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) each year. This is scant compared to Singapore, whose annual military spending reached 3% of its GDP despite its size, according to the ex-army general.

“Our [defense] budget is actually among the smallest in ASEAN,” Prabowo said.

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