India’s PM Winds Up Visit to Indonesia, Hails ‘New Avenues’ For Cooperation
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- Modi wrapped a three-day Indonesia stop on a three-nation regional tour, signing 14 agreements spanning critical minerals, maritime security, defense, agriculture, and steel supply chains.
- BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint venture, signed a missile contract with Indonesia's Ministry of Defense; Reuters cited Indian sources placing the deal at ~$630 million, with The Tribune reporting it covers one battery of launchers, radars, and missiles.
- Bharat Dynamics secured its first-ever export deal for the Astra air-to-air missile through an agreement with Indonesia's Republikorp defense holding company.
- President Prabowo personally drove Modi to the airport, accompanied him to Prambanan Temple for a joint UNESCO conservation project inauguration, and called the partnership one between "two of the largest democracies in the world."
- The deals build on a 2018 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and align with Indonesia's stated goal of avoiding overdependence on U.S. or Chinese arms, while elevating India as a "third way" defense partner for the region.
- Indonesia's BrahMos interest dates to at least 2018, with the Philippines and Vietnam already operating the cruise missile system.
Why it matters: The ~$630 million BrahMos contract marks India's largest defense export breakthrough in Southeast Asia, where Indonesia has explicitly sought to avoid overdependence on either Washington or Beijing—a foothold that gives New Delhi a strategic opening in a market shaped by US-China competition.
