Japan and Indonesia agree deal on defence equipment exports with one eye on disputes with China

Japan is troubled by Chinese coastguard ships’ repeated intrusions into Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea

Indonesia faces tensions north of the Natuna Islands, where Chinese fishing boats, accompanied by coastguard vessels, have been accused of illegal fishing

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Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:01pm, 30 Mar 2021Updated: 8:08pm, 30 Mar 2021

Japan and Indonesia on Tuesday signed a deal enabling exports of Japanese-made defence equipment to the Southeast Asian country, as they try to boost cooperation amid China’s rising assertiveness in regional waters.

The accord on the transfer of defence equipment and technology was signed after the foreign and defence ministers of Japan and Indonesia met in Tokyo for the so-called two-plus-two talks, the second of its kind between the two countries since 2015.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he hopes the envisaged pact will be the “foundation of further security cooperation between the two countries”, when he met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto ahead of the two-plus-two meeting.

“To realise the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, I’d like to advance specific cooperation,” Suga also told the Indonesian ministers at his office.

In the talks, they also agreed to coordinate closely regarding the crisis in Myanmar where the military seized power in a coup on February 1, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Suga “strongly condemned” the continued use of violence by Myanmar’s security forces against peaceful protesters, resulting in massive casualties and injuries, the ministry said.