Hegseth hosted Indonesian Minister of Defence Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at the Pentagon on Monday, where the deal was signed. The US defence secretary also said Washington and Jakarta’s security relationship was “active and growing”, noting that both countries’ armed forces participate in more than 170 military exercises together each year. A joint statement on the new partnership said the two sides had agreed to work on co-developing “sophisticated asymmetric capabilities, pioneering next-generation defence technologies in the maritime, subsurface and autonomous systems domains”, and improving operational readiness.
The signing of the partnership comes a day after reports in Indonesia that both countries are discussing a proposal to give US military aircraft access to Indonesian airspace. It was an honor to host Indonesian Defense Minister @sjafriesjams at the Pentagon today. I was proud to announce that we are elevating our relationship to a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership, in recognition of the strength and potential of our bilateral defense ties. pic.twitter.com/eyo3Jh1cWF — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) April 13, 2026 The US is seeking “blanket” overflight access for military aircraft through Indonesian airspace, several media outlets reported on Sunday, adding that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had approved the proposal.
Responding to the reports, the Ministry of Defence in Jakarta said in a statement that the two countries are still discussing a “Letter of Intent”, and only a preliminary draft on overflight was being discussed internally. The draft is neither final nor binding, the ministry added. Control over Indonesian airspace belongs to Indonesia, the Defence Ministry added, saying that deals with other countries would protect Indonesia’s sovereignty and adhere to Indonesian law.
It is not legally binding. It cannot be used as a basis for official government policy,” Defence Minister Sjafrie’s spokesman, Rico Ricardo Sirait, told the Jakarta Globe. Any potential regulation shall guarantee Indonesia’s full authority to approve or reject any activity in national airspace,” he told the news outlet.
Prabowo is due to meet his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Tuesday, just a day after he held talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin about oil, the government in Jakarta said, according to the news agency. Last month, Prabowo’s government announced fuel rationing and mandated a day-per-week work-from-home policy for civil servants to conserve energy stocks as prices surge amid the US-Israel war on Iran.
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