Yvette Tanamal, Jakarta – Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin on Wednesday joined his Australian and Papua New Guinean counterparts in Port Moresby for their inaugural trilateral meeting, held alongside the signing of a PNG-Australia pact and the culmination of Indonesia's own bilateral defense negotiations with Canberra.
Closer military engagement among the three neighboring countries will carry meaningful weight for regional stability, the ministers said in a joint statement after their meeting. They pledged to broaden cooperation on shared security priorities and maintain regular dialogue to advance their "collective vision" for the Indo-Pacific.
Tightening neighborly bonds amid rising regional volatility was high on the agenda this week as Indonesia's Sjafrie met with Australia's Richard Marles and PNG's Billy Joseph, with talks centering on enhancing practical cooperation and strengthening defense dialogue.
According to the joint statement, the ministers explored cooperation in areas including maritime domain awareness, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Sjafrie, accompanied by several delegates including deputy commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI) Gen. Tandyo Budi Revita, emphasized during his remarks the strategic value of good neighborly relations.
"We understand the importance of this meeting. From here, we can enhance and develop cooperation among Indonesia, Australia and Papua New Guinea," he said, noting the more often neighbors meet, the stronger their sense of kinship becomes.
In recent years, countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including Indonesia and Australia, have notably increased their defense spending and military exercises as the United States-China rivalry continues to strain regional security. Many have turned to new or expanded security partnerships as a way to bolster resilience.
This growing cooperation comes even as the three countries differ in their strategic orientations, with Indonesia maintaining a non-aligned posture, Australia firmly embedded in Western security alliances and PNG hosting a US military presence.
Last year, for example, Jakarta and Port Moresby ratified a defense deal to expand security cooperation along their 760-kilometer border, just months before Indonesia and Australia signed their own historic Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), granting each side unprecedented access for joint activities.
During President Prabowo Subianto's state visit to Canberra in early November, Indonesia and Australia announced that negotiations for yet another security treaty, intended to streamline intelligence sharing, were nearing completion and expected to be signed next year.
Sjafrie's meeting on Wednesday also reviewed progress on the Indonesia-Australia treaty and took note of the newly signed PNG-Australia Mutual Defense Treaty (Pukpuk Treaty), which formalizes expanded defense cooperation between Port Moresby and Canberra.
"Hopefully, our discussions today will pave the way for closer engagement and the building of strategic trust for the benefit of our countries and the broader Indo-Pacific region," the minister said.
Source: https://asianews.network/indonesia-australia-papua-new-guinea-boost-defence-ties-in-first-trilateral