India-Indonesia ties deepen as EAM Jaishankar outlines blueprint for defence, trade cooperation

India's External Affairs Minister co-chaired the 8th India-Indonesia Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in New Delhi with Indonesia's Foreign Minister — the firs...

What Happened

India's External Affairs Minister co-chaired the 8th India-Indonesia Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in New Delhi with Indonesia's Foreign Minister — the first such meeting in four years, signalling a renewed push to deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Discussions covered a comprehensive agenda: political ties, defence and security, maritime and shipping, trade and investment, fintech, health, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, critical minerals, tourism, education, and cultural cooperation.
The meeting took place ahead of an anticipated visit by India's Prime Minister to Jakarta, adding strategic weight to the diplomatic engagement.
Both sides identified counter-terrorism cooperation, digital connectivity, infrastructure, and people-to-people ties as priority areas for near-term action.
Indonesia's centrality to India's Act East Policy and its role as a pivotal ASEAN state were highlighted as reasons to intensify bilateral engagement.

Static Topic Bridges

India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2018)

India and Indonesia elevated their bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in May 2018 during an exchange of visits at the highest level. This partnership framework covers political dialogue, defence cooperation, maritime security, trade and investment, and cultural exchanges — setting an institutional architecture for multi-domain engagement. The 8th JCM is a key mechanism within this framework: it brings together both foreign ministers to review progress and set new directions across all pillars of cooperation.

Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established: May 2018
The JCM is the apex ministerial mechanism for reviewing the full spectrum of the bilateral relationship.
The 8th JCM was held after a four-year gap — the last meeting was held before the post-COVID diplomatic resumption.
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto was the Republic Day Chief Guest in January 2025, imparting fresh momentum to the partnership.
India and Indonesia established diplomatic relations in 1950; in 2025, they celebrated 75 years of ties.

Connection to this news: The 8th JCM represents the institutionalisation of the 2018 upgrade — a stocktaking meeting to translate the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into concrete deliverables across defence, trade, and maritime domains.

India's Act East Policy and ASEAN Centrality

India's Act East Policy (successor to the Look East Policy from 1992) formally announced in 2014, shifts India's strategic focus from merely engaging Southeast Asia to actively integrating with it. Indonesia is the largest ASEAN economy, the world's largest archipelagic state, and strategically positioned across the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Indonesia's geographic position astride key sea lanes of communication (SLOCs) — including the Strait of Malacca and the Lombok Strait — makes it a critical partner for India's maritime security calculus. India and ASEAN elevated their partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022, with the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership 2026–2030 now guiding the next phase.

Look East Policy launched: 1992 (Prime Minister Narasimha Rao government)
Act East Policy announced: November 2014 (East Asia Summit, Naypyidaw)
India-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established: 2022
Indonesia's GDP: world's 16th largest economy; ASEAN's largest by GDP
Strait of Malacca: approximately 40% of global trade passes through it
India-ASEAN trade target: USD 200 billion (by 2022; new targets being set)

Connection to this news: Indonesia is effectively the anchor of India's Act East Policy engagement with ASEAN. Deepening the JCM framework — covering defence, maritime security, and digital economy — directly advances Act East objectives and India's Indo-Pacific positioning.

Maritime Cooperation: Samudra Shakti and CORPAT

India and Indonesia share a maritime boundary in the Andaman Sea and have robust naval cooperation. The India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT), initiated in 2002, is one of the longest-running bilateral naval cooperation mechanisms in the region. The Samudra Shakti joint naval exercise (launched 2018) tests anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, and maritime interdiction. These exercises enhance interoperability and contribute to maintaining freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific, an area of shared strategic interest given both nations' concerns about contested sea lanes.

IND-INDO CORPAT initiated: 2002 (twice-yearly patrols in the Andaman Sea)
Samudra Shakti exercise launched: 2018
Other joint exercises: Garuda Shakti (Army), Super Garuda Shield (multilateral), MILAN (multilateral naval exercise hosted by India)
India and Indonesia share a maritime boundary near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Both nations are members of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+)
Critical minerals: Indonesia is the world's largest nickel producer — a key mineral for EV batteries and India's clean energy transition

Connection to this news: The JCM's maritime cooperation pillar builds on two decades of CORPAT and exercise engagement. The addition of critical minerals (Indonesian nickel) to the cooperation agenda reflects the newer dimension of the partnership — linking maritime security with the energy transition supply chain.

India-Indonesia Trade and Economic Cooperation

Bilateral trade between India and Indonesia has grown significantly over the past decade, reaching USD 29.4 billion in FY 2023-24. India exports pharmaceuticals, machinery, steel products, and chemicals to Indonesia; it imports coal, crude palm oil, nickel, and paper pulp. Both countries aim to increase bilateral trade to USD 50 billion. Indonesia is a major supplier of coal (supporting India's energy security) and palm oil (a key edible oil import). The India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA, 2010) governs much of the bilateral trade framework.

Bilateral trade: USD 29.4 billion (FY 2023-24)
Trade target: USD 50 billion (aspirational)
India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA) in goods: effective 1 January 2010
Indonesia is the world's largest palm oil producer and a top coal exporter
Indonesia is the world's largest nickel producer — critical for India's EV and battery sector
Fintech cooperation is a new growth area: India's UPI framework is being explored for interoperability with Indonesian payment systems

Connection to this news: The JCM explicitly covered fintech, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals — sectors not prominent in earlier meetings. This broadening reflects the maturation of the bilateral agenda from traditional goods trade toward a technology- and supply-chain-integrated partnership.

Key Facts & Data

8th India-Indonesia JCM: held in New Delhi, June 7, 2026 (first in four years)
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established: May 2018
Diplomatic relations established: 1950 (75 years in 2025)
Indonesia's President as Republic Day Chief Guest: January 2025
Bilateral trade: USD 29.4 billion (FY 2023-24); target USD 50 billion
IND-INDO CORPAT: launched 2002 (twice-yearly)
Samudra Shakti exercise: launched 2018
Indonesia: world's largest archipelagic state (17,000+ islands); largest ASEAN economy
Indonesia: world's largest nickel producer (critical mineral for EV batteries)
ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: established 2022; next phase 2026–2030
Act East Policy: announced November 2014