Germany, Indonesia Bolster Defense Ties Amid Rising Tensions in Indo-Pacific

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Germany and Indonesia have agreed to strengthen their defense cooperation as Germany works to boost engagement with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, where military tensions have been rising.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius met with his Indonesian counterpart, Prabowo Subianto, in Jakarta on June 5 and discussed ways to strengthen defense cooperation between their countries.

Subianto said the two nations maintained “very good” bilateral relations over the past decade, and they wish to continue strengthening these ties, particularly in the defense sector.

“We are determined to continue strengthening cooperation and I promised to pay a return courtesy visit to Germany,” he said at a joint press conference, according to Indonesia’s Defense Ministry.

The possibility of them conducting a joint military drill with regional partners was one of the topics discussed as Germany plans to deploy a frigate to the Indo-Pacific next year, Pistorius said.

“We talked about the possibility of having a deal about some submarines. We were talking about the two minesweepers which are already on the way to Indonesia,” he added.

Prior to his visit to Indonesia, Pistorius spoke to Subianto on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The U.S. and Chinese defense ministers also attended the summit, which was held June 2–4.

In his speech, Pistorius said that Germany would deploy a frigate and a supply ship to the Indo-Pacific region next year. But he made it clear that the deployments were not directed against any nation.

“They are dedicated to the protection of the rules-based international order that we all signed up to and which we all should benefit from—be it in the Mediterranean, in the Bay of Bengal, or in the South China Sea,” he said.

With the prevailing global challenges and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Pistorius said that countries need cooperation and security rather than confrontation.

“If Russia wins, the message to revisionist powers around the world will be that aggression and the unprovoked use of military force are acceptable and can be successful,” he said.

Pistorius said that Germany will increase defense spending to 2 percent of its gross domestic product and realign its armed forces toward collective defense, including enhanced operational readiness and intensified military cooperation.

“We must defend the rules-based international order—no matter where it is challenged,” he remarked.

By showing a greater military presence in the region, Germany is walking a tightrope between its security and economic interests, as China is Berlin’s most important trading partner.

In 2021, a German warship sailed into the South China Sea for the first time in almost 20 years, a move that saw Berlin joining other Western nations in expanding its military presence in the region amid growing alarm over China’s territorial ambitions.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its own, despite an international tribunal ruling that Beijing has no legal basis for these claims. Taiwan also faces military threats from China, which sees the self-ruled island as a part of its territory.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen (R) greets Johannes Vogel, a member of Germany’s parliament, at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 10, 2023. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

A German delegation visited Taiwan earlier this year, which according to German lawmaker Johannes Vogel demonstrated Germany’s support for Taiwan against military aggression.

“The German government and Western allies support the ‘One China’ policy, but we also believe that any change of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait can only be achieved by mutual agreement, and any attempt to change the status quo by force is unacceptable,” Vogel said.

Germany regards Taiwan as an important partner but has no formal diplomatic ties with the republic.

Reuters contributed to this report.