New Delhi: The US and Indonesia signed a Major Defence Cooperation Partnership Monday, after multiple media reports over the weekend indicated that Jakarta has granted blanket overflight access for American military aircraft. Such access would give the US greater ability to keep an eye on the Strait of Malacca, another global chokepoint for trade.
“I was proud to announce that we are elevating our relationship to a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership, in recognition of the strength and potential of our bilateral defense ties,” US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said in a statement late Monday evening on the social media platform X.
Hegseth hosted Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin Monday at the Pentagon, the headquarters of the American Department of Defence in Arlington, Virginia.
The Indonesian Ministry of Defence Monday said that the two countries are still negotiating the letter of intent over access to its airspace by American military aircraft, as reported by Reuters.
The new major defence cooperation partnership (MDCP) signed between the two countries is built around three pillars, namely military modernisation and capacity building, training and professional education and exercises and operational cooperation, the two countries said in a joint statement.
“The MDCP is intended to serve as a guiding framework to advance bilateral defense cooperation. With this announcement, both nations reaffirm their shared commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” added the joint statement.
Under the new framework, both countries “will explore mutually agreed cutting-edge initiatives” including in the co-development of “sophisticated asymmetric capabilities,” as well as pioneering next generation defence technologies in domains such as maritime, subsurface and autonomous systems.
The joint statement further added that both countries have “committed to enhance joint special forces training”.
The Indonesian Ministry of Defence in its statement “emphasised” that all forms of cooperation including those that remain proposals “will always be placed within the framework of maintaining the sovereignty” of Indonesia.
Any potential overflight access to US military aircraft through Indonesian airspace could potentially allow the US the ability to keep an eye on the Strait of Malacca, another narrow waterway between the Malay peninsula and the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.
The Strait of Malacca is an important trading route, accounting for roughly a quarter of global trade and the flow of about 35 per cent of international seaborne oil. The Strait is a key trading node for China, as a majority of its energy supplies pass through the narrow waterway managed by Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
It was an honor to host Indonesian Defense Minister @sjafriesjams at the Pentagon today.
I was proud to announce that we are elevating our relationship to a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership, in recognition of the strength and potential of our bilateral defense ties. pic.twitter.com/eyo3Jh1cWF
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) April 13, 2026
Global trading choke points have come increasingly in focus due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran for the last 40-odd days. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran at the end of February. Around a fifth of the global energy supply transits through the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier, in 2024 and 2025, another important shipping route through the Bab el Mandeb Strait, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, was weaponised by the Houthi militias in Yemen in response to the then ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is currently in Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow over the weekend.
Indonesian foreign policy over the years has evolved to maintain a fine balance between the West and China. Indonesia, for example, signed a deal to purchase 42 Dassault Rafale military aircraft from France, while late last year also confirming plans to acquire 42 Chengdu J-10 fighter jets from China.
India’s defence partnership with Indonesia is also poised for further growth as Jakarta has expressed interest in BrahMos Missile, as reported by ThePrint last year.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: What Iran’s Hormuz play means for Malacca freedoms — and why India should be speaking up