US approves US$14 billion sale of F-15 fighter jets to Indonesia

The major arms deal comes as Biden’s top diplomat is in Australia seeking to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific

US Secretary of State Blinken had previously lauded close US-Indonesia ties despite human rights concerns that have delayed previous arms sales to the country

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A US F-15 fighter jet takes off at Ovda Military Airbase in southern Israel in May 2017. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:07am, 11 Feb 2022

The Biden administration on Thursday approved a nearly US$14 billion arms sale to Indonesia, as the US presses ahead with steps it believes will help counter China’s increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

The State Department announced the US$13.9 billion sale of advanced fighter jets while Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Australia on a visit also intended to underscore the US determination not to allow China free rein in the Pacific, even as developments between Russia and Ukraine demand attention.

The sale to Indonesia of up to 36 F-15 fighter jets, engines and related equipment, including munitions and communications systems, follows a mid-December trip to Jakarta by Blinken, who at the time lauded close US-Indonesia ties despite human rights concerns that have delayed previous arms sales to the country.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right), who is in Australia for a meeting of Quad foreign ministers, holds a student town hall at the University of Melbourne on Thursday. Photo: AFP

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of an important regional partner that is a force for political stability, and economic progress in the Asia-Pacific region,” the department said in a statement.

“It is vital to US national interests to assist Indonesia in developing and maintaining a strong and effective self-defence capability,” it said.

The statement made no mention of China but successive US administrations have sought to enlist Indonesia, the world’s largest predominantly Muslim democracy, in its campaign to ward off Chinese attempts to boost its influence in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the Pacific.

Indonesia hosts the headquarters of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, some members of which are struggling to deal with Chinese moves into disputed areas of the South China Sea, which is a major international shipping route.