Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Indonesia on Monday for a three-day official visit, marking his first bilateral trip to the Southeast Asian nation since India and Indonesia elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in May 2018.
The visit comes amid steadily expanding cooperation between the two maritime neighbours across defence, maritime security, trade and regional connectivity. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), defence cooperation has emerged as one of the key pillars of the bilateral relationship.
India and Indonesia established formal defence ties in 1951, while a Defence Cooperation Agreement was signed in 2001 and renewed in 2006. The partnership received a major boost during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Indonesia in 2018, when both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation.
Over the years, the two countries have broadened military engagement across all three services through bilateral and multilateral exercises, coordinated maritime patrols, defence dialogues, training exchanges and cooperation between defence industries.
Regular engagements include the India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT), bilateral Army exercise Garuda Shakti, bilateral naval exercise Samudra Shakti, multilateral naval exercises Komodo and MILAN, cooperation between the Indian Coast Guard and Indonesia’s maritime security agency Bakamla, hydrographic cooperation, subject matter expert exchanges and participation in ASEAN-led defence mechanisms such as the ADMM-Plus.
According to the MEA, defence ties have also expanded through Services Staff Talks, Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meetings, training exchanges, defence industry seminars and participation in multinational exercises, including Super Garuda Shield and Elang Shakti.
High-level exchanges have gathered momentum in recent years. Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin visited New Delhi in November 2025 for the third India-Indonesia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue, co-chaired with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Earlier, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi visited Indonesia from December 15 to 18, 2024, holding discussions with the country’s defence and military leadership.
In April 2024, Jakarta hosted the first-ever India-Indonesia Defence Industry Exhibition-cum-Seminar, while Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan visited Indonesia in October 2024 to further strengthen defence cooperation under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Maritime cooperation has also remained a key feature of the relationship. Earlier this year, the indigenously built offshore patrol vessel INS Sunayna made a goodwill port call at Jakarta from April 22 to 24 as part of the Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) Mission, carrying personnel from 16 partner nations.
The visit followed a series of Indian naval deployments to Indonesia in 2025, including goodwill visits by INS Kadmatt to Surabaya and Makassar, INS Sandhayak to Jakarta, and guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai to Jakarta.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the growing frequency of defence dialogues, naval deployments, military exercises and industry collaboration reflects the expanding strategic convergence between India and Indonesia in the Indo-Pacific.
