The Australia-Indonesia Foreign and Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Melbourne on 26 August turned both countries’ expanding treaty architecture into practical cooperation for building shared resilience. The meeting brought together Australian and Indonesian foreign ministers Penny Wong and Sugiono and defence ministers Richard Marles and Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to discuss a wide array of priorities. The economic domain was also an important topic, particularly after Sugiono’s and Sjamsoeddin’s meeting with their Chinese counterparts earlier this month.
Last year’s iteration of the meeting covered defence exercises, military education, maritime cooperation, cyber and technology, as well as partnership in conflict-prevention, economic security, disaster-risk reduction and critical industries such as battery manufacturing. This year’s agenda looks similarly varied, which makes it worth asking where successful cooperation has been achieved and where both countries should concentrate their efforts next. Given the partnership’s already packed agenda, the next phase needs to prioritise knowledge retention and interoperability over adding more issue on the table.
The Melbourne meeting was the first major ministerial engagement since the Treaty of Common Security was signed in Jakarta in February. While both sides are still awaiting the treaty’s ratification, the meeting advanced discussions on the Implementation Arrangement. Technical matters, including travel and visa arrangements for military personnel participating in joint exercises, appear to be progressing. More substantive issues remain under negotiation and are expected to be finalised later this year.
Since the last meeting, both countries have deepened defence cooperation, including engaging in various joint training exercises. This year alone, Indonesian Navy brought its Martadinata-class frigate to Exercise Kakadu in April, and four Indonesian T-50i Golden Eagle combat aircraft deployed to northern Australia for Exercise Pitch Black. In early August, both countries’ navies completed joint drills as part of Exercise Cassowary. Both militaries are preparing for major scenario exercise Keris Woomera. The exercise, to be held in Indonesia later this year, will include a cyber component.
These defence exercises have generated important lessons on maritime awareness, logistical readiness, crisis recovery and communications. It’s important for those lessons to be retained. Earlier this year, Marles announced that an Indonesian colonel would be appointed as deputy commander of the Australian Army’s 1st Brigade in Darwin from 2027. This is a step towards turning these exercises into a standing institutional link.
Developing’s Indonesia training facilities on Morotai Island is another way to build cooperation. Defence plans to send a survey team to assess the island’s World War II-era training facility as a potential site for Australian Defence Force training and joint activities. Morotai’s location would help to make training more reciprocal and sharpen both countries’ awareness of the geography between them.
Facilities on Morotai would support Australia’s northern approaches and strengthen Canberra’s ability to support partners beyond Indonesia, including Timor-Leste, the Philippines, Japan and Papua New Guinea.
For Indonesia, hosting an international training facility in Morotai would increase its capacity to lead practical regional cooperation, including through ASEAN-plus mechanism. However, eastern Indonesia’s infrastructure lags comparatively with Java Island where Keris Woomera took place, which means Australia would need to invest to bring Morotai’s facilities up to standard.
Practical cooperation could also build economic resilience. At a meeting between Chinese and Indonesian foreign and defence ministers earlier this month, China offered to help expand Indonesia’s defence industry in exchange for increased joint military exercises. To help address this, Australia can build longer-term engagement outside of defence to deepen economic and disaster resilience, both of which would contribute to comprehensive security cooperation. This can be done through fostering two-way investment channels and humanitarian support.
President Prabowo Subianto has encouraged Australia to invest in Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund agency, Danantara. At the same time, he has encouraged Indonesian companies to invest in Australian critical minerals to expand Indonesia’s role in the global electronic-vehicle supply-chain. In line with Indonesia’s aim to strengthen food security, Danantara will pay A$3.6 billion to acquire a 25 percent stake in Australian meat processing company JBS, with plans for further expansion.
On disaster preparedness, Australia has long partnered with Indonesia through the Siap Siaga disaster-risk management program, strengthening Jakarta’s capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters. This cooperation has entered a new phase that includes support for resilience infrastructure. Canberra’s contribution in this sector extends beyond statements on solidarity. However, Beijing’s visible offer of assistance following a 15 August magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Flores may shape Indonesian public perception.
Although China remains Indonesia’s largest trading partner, Australia’s role as Indonesia’s most tangible security partner is reinforced by cooperation in non-traditional sectors. Australia remains a key partner with similar interests, preferences and priorities in securing the region. As Wong framed it, the relationship being built from the Jakarta Treaty is critical for ‘future generations of Indonesians and Australians.’
Facts Only
* The meeting took place in Melbourne on August 26.
* Participants included Australian foreign ministers Penny Wong and defence minister Richard Marles, and Indonesian foreign ministers Sugiono and Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, along with defence ministers.
* Last year's meeting covered defence exercises, military education, maritime cooperation, cyber/technology, conflict-prevention partnership, economic security, disaster-risk reduction, and critical industries like battery manufacturing.
* The current agenda is varied, prompting a focus on retaining successful cooperation and prioritizing knowledge retention and interoperability.
* Technical matters regarding the Implementation Arrangement, such as travel and visa arrangements for military personnel, are progressing.
* Indonesian Navy participated in Exercise Kakadu with a Martadinata-class frigate in April, and four T-50i Golden Eagle aircraft were deployed to Australia for Exercise Pitch Black.
* Joint drills between navies were completed as part of Exercise Cassowary in early August.
* Both militaries are preparing for the Keris Woomera scenario exercise, which will include a cyber component and take place in Indonesia later this year.
* Defence cooperation includes plans to appoint an Indonesian colonel as deputy commander of the Australian Army’s 1st Brigade in Darwin from 2027.
* Australia is considering supporting a survey of Morotai Island's World War II-era training facility for potential Australian Defence Force training.
* Indonesia plans to host an international training facility on Morotai Island to enhance regional cooperation capacity.
* Danantara will pay A$3.6 billion to acquire a 25 percent stake in the Australian meat processing company JBS.
* Australia has partnered with Indonesia on the Siap Siaga disaster-risk management program.
Executive Summary
The Australia-Indonesia Foreign and Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Melbourne aimed to translate expanding treaty architecture into practical cooperation for building shared resilience between the two nations. The meeting involved Australian and Indonesian foreign ministers Penny Wong and Sugiono, and defence ministers Richard Marles and Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin. Discussions covered a range of priorities, with economic matters gaining prominence following recent discussions between Indonesian officials and their Chinese counterparts.
The previous meeting focused on defence exercises, military education, maritime cooperation, cyber and technology, conflict-prevention partnerships, economic security, disaster-risk reduction, and critical industries like battery manufacturing. The current agenda suggests a focus on reviewing past successes and prioritizing future efforts in knowledge retention and interoperability rather than introducing new issues. Technical aspects related to the Implementation Arrangement, such as travel and visa arrangements for military personnel, are progressing, although more substantive negotiations are expected later in the year.
Defence cooperation has deepened since the last engagement through joint training exercises, including the Indonesian Navy deploying a frigate and combat aircraft to Australian exercises, and joint drills by navies. Preparations are underway for the Keris Woomera scenario exercise, which will include a cyber component. Cooperation is also being sought through developing Indonesian training facilities on Morotai Island, which Australia intends to support, potentially enhancing regional awareness and logistical reach. Economic resilience can be built through fostering investment channels and humanitarian support, with specific initiatives involving sovereign wealth fund investments and critical minerals.
Full Take
The dynamic between Australia and Indonesia demonstrates a strategic pivot from treaty negotiation to operationalizing existing commitments, shifting the focus from establishing frameworks to achieving tangible results. The emphasis placed on knowledge retention and interoperability following the meeting signals a recognition that broad agreements are insufficient without embedded practical capacity. This points toward a recurring tension in security partnerships: balancing high-level strategic alignment with the granular, often slow, process of institutional integration and physical infrastructure development.
The push to utilize Morotai for training facilities illustrates a pattern where geographical proximity is leveraged not just for situational awareness but for creating reciprocal logistical and experiential learning environments. However, this geographic advantage immediately introduces an asymmetry: while Australia seeks to expand its reach across the region (to Timor-Leste, the Philippines, etc.), Indonesia’s eastern infrastructure lags relative to Java Island, creating a dependency where Australian investment becomes necessary to address internal infrastructural deficits in partner states. This juxtaposition reveals a pattern of conditional cooperation where external support is required to equalize internal developmental gaps.
Furthermore, the layering of security cooperation with economic and humanitarian dimensions—linking defence readiness to critical minerals supply chains (JBS investment) and disaster resilience programs (Siap Siaga)—reveals a strategy of comprehensive sovereignty building. This approach attempts to frame security not as an isolated military concern but as an interwoven element of socio-economic stability, particularly in contexts where external powers exert influence. The implicit pattern suggests that resilience is constructed through mutually reinforcing dependencies, whether formalized through military exercises or economic channels, raising the question of whose definition of 'resilience' ultimately shapes the partnership’s trajectory for future generations.
Sentinel — Human
The text functions as a well-structured summary of diplomatic discussions, effectively connecting defense cooperation with broader economic and resilience themes through specific, verifiable examples.