Indonesia, Japan sign defense pact after Tokyo unlocks arms exports

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The defense ministers of Indonesia and Japan signed a cooperation agreement on Monday, Jakarta said, underlining the need to safeguard regional peace and stability in the face of global tumult.

The signing during Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s visit to Indonesia came after Tokyo had eased decades-old arms export rules last month, allowing firms to sell lethal weapons to countries with which Japan has defense agreements.

Indonesian defence ministry spokesman Rico Ricardo Sirait told AFP that the agreement was part of efforts to improve defence cooperation between the two countries.

The pact covers issues including collaboration in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, joint exercises, and maritime cooperation, Rico said.

He added that it also “opens up opportunities for cooperation in defense equipment and technology” while “prioritising… regional stability.”

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto, a former general, has been pushing to modernize the country’s ageing military assets since taking office in 2024.

READ: Indonesia’s Prabowo pledges cooperation with Japan

Koizumi earlier said that defence cooperation with Indonesia would make a “contribution to peace and stability… for the region as a whole” amid “an increasingly complex and tense international situation.”

After his talks with Indonesia’s Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin in Jakarta, Koizumi is bound for the Philippines, where Japanese forces are taking part in a joint military exercise also including the United States.

Indonesia last month concluded a defence cooperation pact with the United States, agreed to increase security ties with France, and signed an oil deal with Russia.

Jakarta, while defending a non-aligned diplomatic posture it calls “free and active”, last year joined the BRICS bloc of emerging economies that includes Russia and US rival China.

Prabowo has also signed a trade deal with US President Donald Trump and joined his so-called “Board of Peace”.

Last week, Jakarta said it was still considering a US request for blanket overflight clearance, which, if approved, analysts say could be seen as an alignment with Washington over Beijing.

Indonesia is strategically located on the Malacca Strait — the world’s busiest chokepoint for oil and petroleum liquids, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

The vast majority of China-bound oil travels through the strait.