India And Indonesia To Boost Maritime Security

The defense ministers of Indonesia and India are planning to jointly start training and possible co- production sale of military, defense equipment and increase maritime security. Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Indonesia defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, also discussed about joint patrols of Indian and Indonesian warships in the Strait of Malacca, a vital waterway for sea traffic, including petroleum shipments from the Arabian Gulf. The sale of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile to Indonesia was also discussed. The two countries exchanged views on issues relating to regional and global security, bilateral exercises, training, coproduction of defence equipment and ammunitions. China has a military base on leased Myanmar land in the Coco Islands, where it can monitor the Indian Navy and ballistic missile testing. India has set up its tri-command to observe Chinese activities near Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is the closest country to India’s Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean, and has set up Indonesia’s Sumatra province which is 80 nautical miles from the Nicobar Islands. Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony, said, “We have a vital stake in the evolution of balanced security and cooperation mechanisms, through which we can build consensus and pursue dialogue. We seek to improve our partnership with all countries in the Indian Ocean region on a bilateral basis”.