Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – United States (US) Minister of Defense (Menhan) Lloyd Austin met with the Indonesian Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto, in Jakarta, Thursday. The two met on the sidelines of the 10th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus.
During the meeting, both of them signed the Defense Cooperation Arrangement (DCA). This Defense Cooperation Arrangement opens up new opportunities for advanced cooperation to be explored between the US and Indonesia.
The two ministers celebrated President Biden and President Joko Widodo’s recently announced upgrade of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and discussed ways to expand training opportunities, increase educational exchanges, and increase maritime domain awareness.
“Minister Prabowo and I have just signed a historic Defense Cooperation Arrangement on the sidelines of ADMM-Plus here in Jakarta,” said Minister Austin in an official US Embassy release received by CNBC Indonesia, Friday (17/11/2023).
“The deepening defense relationship between the US and Indonesia is at the heart of the newly enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.”
Defense Minister Austin told reporters that the signing was a continuation of the largest joint exercise ever in Indonesia, the Super Garuda Shield in September.
“(In) the exercise, there were 7 participating countries with 11 observer countries,” he added.
Meanwhile, for the ADMM-Plus event, Minister of Defense Austin emphasized the US commitment to ASEAN centrality as the main pillar in the United States’ efforts to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and outlined how US security cooperation with its partners in ASEAN contributes to the region. more stable and prosperous.
“We also discussed US support for a shared regional vision and outlined challenges to that vision, including China’s coercive activities in the South China Sea, the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, North Korea’s destabilizing proliferation activities, and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the East Middle,” he explained again.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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