Jakarta. Indonesia insists that it will not host a US military base, despite their recent pledge to broaden the defense partnership.

Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin made the remarks after hosting US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge A Colby in Jakarta on Tuesday. The meeting took place a few months after both governments shook hands on the so-called “major defense cooperation partnership”. In a ministerial press release, Sjafrie said that whatever was in the pipeline wouldn’t include a US military basing expansion.

“The development of the defense cooperation with the US is not directed at establishing an American military base in Indonesia,” the statement reads.

“Our cooperation focuses on programs that help increase the national defense capacity, in particular education, training, personnel capabilities, and strengthening interoperability according to our needs and interests.”

“Respect for Indonesia’s sovereignty” will remain key in every defense partnership that Jakarta pursues. According to the release, the Sjafrie-Colby talks covered joint drills and the possibility of sending Indonesian military personnel to train in the US.

Media reports show that the US controls roughly 750 bases across at least 80 countries, making it the world’s largest overseas military basing presence. Some of these installations are in the Gulf and have been targets of the Iranian attacks in the recently erupted war. President Prabowo Subianto has previously said that Jakarta would give a hard no to any proposal for a foreign military base, despite his approach of befriending everyone.

"We don't want any [military pacts]. We can't accept foreign military bases. It has always been like that since [our founding father] Sukarno's era," Prabowo told a hand-picked interview with senior journalists and experts in March.

Colby is on a four-nation Southeast Asian tour. In his first stop, the Philippines, the Pentagon senior official urged other countries to shoulder more responsibility for their defense, including by buying modern weapons systems. This way, they would not need to rely on the US too much to safeguard the region. Colby said at the time that the US was "looking for partners, not protectorates.”

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