Indonesia and Japan agree to bilateral defence cooperation deal

Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe presided over the signing of a bilateral defence cooperation deal in Tokyo yesterday, on Widodo's first trip outside Southeast Asia since taking power in October.

"We agreed to strengthen the strategic partnership between our two countries, which are major maritime democracies in Asia," Abe said.

"I told the president of my expectations that a developed Indonesia would contribute even more to the peace and stability of the region and the world."

Defence ministers of the two countries signed a memorandum agreeing on ministerial meetings, cooperation on capacity building and cooperation on defence equipment and technology.

The deal is the latest for Abe, who has sought to strengthen security ties with Southeast Asian governments, some of which share with Japan the headache of territorial disputes with an increasingly assertive China.

Widodo will head to China tomorrow for the second leg of his trip.

Japan signed an agreement to bolster defence ties with the Philippines in January, following on from agreements with Vietnam and Singapore. It has delivered coastguard vessels to Indonesia, agreed to do so for the Philippines and is in talks to provide them to Vietnam.