Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto landed in Delhi on January 23 for his first state visit to India. Apart from his engagements with Indian President Draupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and other officials during bilateral engagements, Prabowo was the chief guest for India’s Republic Day celebrations on January 26 – a spot reserved for India’s critical global partners. In the past, India has invited prominent foreign leaders as chief guests, including presidents of the United States, France, and Egypt. By inviting Indonesia’s leader, India highlighted some of its key priorities under Modi 3.0, particularly within the framework of New Delhi’s Act East Policy.
India-Indonesia relations have a storied history. In fact, the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, invited the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, as the chief guest of India’s first Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 1950. The partnership has evolved significantly in the 75 years since, as the two countries have grown in strength, power, and wealth, while carving out their roles at the world level. What marks the present-day partnership is that the two democracies share a vision of a more inclusive and equitable world order.
In the 1950s, Nehru and Sukarno were the leading proponents of the Non-Alignment Movement, which focused on self-determination, the national independence and sovereignty of Asian and African countries, opposition to apartheid, non-adherence to multilateral military pacts, and the independence of non-aligned countries from great power or bloc influences and rivalries – all in the context of Western imperialism. Today, India and Indonesia stand as pillars of the G-20, and they continue to work together on a number of issues, including increased representation for the Global South (specifically the African Union) as well as climate change, health, sustainability, and development.
India and Indonesia established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in May 2018 during Modi’s first state visit to Indonesia. The key areas agreed upon under the partnership included strategic engagement, defense industry and security cooperation, comprehensive economic partnership, cultural and people-to-people links, and cooperation in responding to common challenges.
During Prabowo’s recent visit, Modi called Indonesia the “our important partner in the ASEAN and Indo-Pacific regions” – something in line with New Delhi’s Act East Policy. The Indian prime minister added that both India and Indonesia “are committed towards maintaining peace, security, prosperity and rules-based order in this entire region.” In multilateral platforms like the G-20, ASEAN, and the BRICS (which Indonesia joined earlier this year), Modi pledged that “we will work in coordination and cooperation for the interests and priorities of the nations in the Global South.”
Modi also repeated India’s advocacy for “ASEAN centrality,” which he highlighted as a point of emphasis for the Act East Policy. “ASEAN centrality” in recent years has likewise become an integral part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) mechanism, including the leader-level summits. For India, the embrace of ASEAN centrality underscores its commitment to a multipolar, rules-based order.
On the bilateral level, India sees Southeast Asia as a big market for its defense exports. In 2023-24, India’s defense exports reached a new high with $2.63 billion – representing growth of 32.5 percent from 2022-23. Modi’s visits to ASEAN countries in 2024, including Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, highlighted Delhi’s aspirations for defense sales.
Taking forward the spirit of the strategic partnership, India is reportedly considering a $450 million deal to sell the BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile system to Indonesia. A tech transfer could further define the deal.
Modi did not mention the reported deal in his remarks at the joint press conference with Prabowo on January 25, but he highlighted the various aspects of strategic cooperation, including defense. According to Modi, the two countries have decided to “work together in the areas of Defense Manufacturing and Supply Chain [sic]” – a statement that would broadly cover discreet talks on crucial arms deals. The fate of the BrahMos deal will remain important as a bellwether for India-Indonesia defense relations moving forward.
Apart from defense cooperation, India also attaches importance to maritime, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism cooperation with Indonesia – particularly with an eye to threats like the Islamic State. The agreements signed in Delhi between India and Indonesia on January 25 touched on maritime safety and security, further strengthening collaboration in crime prevention, search and rescue operations, and capacity building. This reflects a commitment to enhancing regional stability and addressing shared security concerns.
On the economic front, bilateral trade has skyrocketed, surpassing $30 billion last year, demonstrating the deepening economic partnership and strategic cooperation in critical areas.
However, for many in Delhi, the China factor could still present a roadblock for India. Indonesia would want itself not to be seen undermining Chinese interests, especially by getting too close to groups like Quad and their version of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” that implicitly targets Beijing.
Since being elected in 2024, Prabowo has already made two trips to China – one before and one after his inauguration. Chinese investments in infrastructure through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), including the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail, create economic dependencies that Jakarta cannot overlook.
That said, India’s advocacy for “ASEAN centrality” does not aim to alienate ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, or put them in direct confrontation with China. Instead, India and other Quad countries see this as an opportunity to engage ASEAN countries in the vision of a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” where ASEAN member-states can also have their individual perspectives.
On a bilateral level, India and Indonesia are set to create future opportunities in areas like fintech, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and digital public infrastructure. Both countries have also shown eagerness to engage with the new Trump administration in the United States and there is potential for trilateral cooperation. It’s also worth watching how their cooperation unfolds at multilateral forums, including BRICS.
