South China Sea: US defence chief backs Indonesia’s push to modernise military
- Lloyd Austin hosted Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto; they said China’s South China Sea claims are ‘not in line with international law’
- A Pentagon statement said the men shared their mutual intention to increase defence capabilities, like fighter jet upgrades and new aircraft
The meeting comes as Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, looks to upgrade its military and replace its ageing hardware, earmarking 134.3 trillion rupiah (US$8.89 billion) this year for defence, the biggest allocation in its state budget, with a similar amount for next year.
For the past decade, Indonesia’s defence spending per capita and as a percentage of gross domestic product has been the lowest among Southeast Asia’s six emerging market economies, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank.
In a statement, the Pentagon said the two countries’ defence ministers shared their mutual intention to increase defence capabilities “like fighter aircraft upgrades, new multi-role fighter aircraft, and additional fixed and rotary wing transport aircraft”.
Indonesia is seeking to upgrade its fighter jets, which currently include US-made F-16 and Russian Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30 models.
On Monday it announced a deal to buy 24 transport helicopters from US weapons maker Lockheed Martin for an undisclosed fee. This month it said it had bought 12 new drones from Turkish Aerospace worth US$300 million.
Austin and Prabowo also said China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea were “inconsistent with international law”, according to the Pentagon statement.
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China claims historical sovereignty over most of the South China Sea via a U-shaped “nine-dash line” on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones of five other countries, including Indonesia.
Indonesia’s defence ministry said the two countries were committed to keeping peace, security and stability in the region as well as maintaining “an open, inclusive, and rule-based order”.
