PH, Indonesia renew defense, security pact

DEFENSE PACT. Department of National Defense (DND) officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. (left) and Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (right) show copies of the signed agreement on cooperative activities in the field of defense and security between the Philippines and Indonesia at a ceremony in Jakarta on Monday (Sept. 5, 2022). The pact is one of the bilateral agreements signed during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s state visit to Indonesia. (Photo courtesy of DND)

MANILA – The Philippines and Indonesia renewed the agreement on cooperative activities in the field of defense and security.

Department of National Defense (DND) officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. and Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto signed the agreement in Jakarta on Monday.

“The agreement is one of the bilateral agreements signed on the sidelines of the State Visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to Indonesia on 05 September 2022,” DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said in a statement Tuesday.

Indonesia is considered one of the closest defense partners of the Philippines in the Southeast Asian region.

“The said agreement is intended to reaffirm the commitment of both countries under the 1997 Defense Cooperation Agreement, and complement the 1975 Border Patrol and Crossing Agreements between the Philippines and Indonesia,” Andolong added.

He said that the renewal of the agreement provides a framework for cooperation between the two defense establishments and aims to enhance the longstanding defense cooperation between the two countries.

Such a framework would also enable the Philippines and Indonesia to collaborate in capacity-building to address shared concerns, particularly in the Southeast Asian region, he added.

“The Philippines and Indonesia also work together with Malaysia to pursue trilateral cooperation in view of security challenges in maritime areas of common concern. Furthermore, as fellow founding members of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the Philippines and Indonesia work closely together under the Asean Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM-Plus, as well as other multilateral fora based on common security interests and in support of Asean Centrality,” Andolong said.