On 22 October, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was hosted in a state visit by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the historic Bandung Asia-Africa Conference of 1955.
Both countries are also part of the BRICS grouping, Indonesia being the organization’s most junior country, having joined in January.
The visit saw Ramaphosa lead a South African delegation to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between the two nations as the two countries agreed to accelerate the implementation of the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in August 2023, which could be in part related to the global geopolitical tensions both countries face. Both presidents will meet again during the G20 Summit meeting in Johannesburg, chaired by South Africa on 22-23 November, and have agreed in advance to cooperate with one another.
The Agreement reinforces bilateral defence cooperation with plans to establish joint training between the two militaries. It also covers maritime cooperation, counter-terrorism issues, increased cooperation between technological and defence industries with the end goal of reaching the joint production of defence equipment using existing MoUs, and information sharing between governments. Both governments have agreed to expand defence cooperation beyond military industry in multilateral humanitarian missions, such as Indonesia’s interest in the Gaza peace mission. Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin stated that South Africa was a key military partner for Indonesia across four domains: land, sea, air, and military health. Jakarta is interested in South Africa’s military healthy capabilities due to existing diseases and medical conditions such as malaria.
The two countries had increased arms exchange and a closer military industrial cooperation in recent years, notably with supply of light weapons to Jakarta. In September 2024, an MoU was signed between Indonesia’s defence company Pindad and Rheinmetall Denel Munition for the supply of strategic industrial products, following a 2019 MoU between Pindad and South Africa’s Paramount Group to develop armoured vehicles together.
South Africa and Indonesia have steadily expanded their defence cooperation over the last few decades, transforming a geopolitically-aligned relationship as part of the Non-Aligned Movement into a strategic partnership. The two countries have interest in strengthening their partnership with one another thanks to economic and military interests amidst international challenges.
Written by ADIT – The Bulletin and republished with permission.
