Germany and Indonesia agreed on Monday to strengthen their defence cooperation and plan a joint military exercise with other countries in the region. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius discussed the growing ties in a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Prabowo Subianto, in Jakarta.
“We talked about the possibility of having a deal about some submarines. We were talking about the two minesweepers which are already on the way to Indonesia,” Pistorius said.
Germany and Indonesia are also planning a joint military exercise with other regional partners, but no details have been disclosed. Both ministers attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s annual defense and security forum, where US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday criticised China’s “bullying or coercion” in the Indo-Pacific region, including tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea.