Joint ministerial statement on Australia-Indonesia Defence cooperation

Australia and Indonesia have a common commitment to the pursuit of a peaceful, stable, secure and prosperous region where sovereignty is respected. We have a positive vision and constructive outlook for our region with ASEAN at its centre, providing an essential stabilising influence.

During their meeting in Canberra on 20 August 2024, the Hon Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence of Australia and his counterpart His Excellency Prabowo Subianto, Minister for Defence of the Republic of Indonesia, announced the conclusion of negotiations to upgrade the Australia-Indonesia Defence Cooperation Arrangement to a treaty level agreement.

Reflecting on their recent meetings, Ministers discussed progress toward strengthening the bilateral defence relationship across many dimensions and areas of cooperation, including deeper education links and closer cooperation on maritime security.

Subject to the completion of domestic approval processes, Ministers acknowledged that the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) would complement the Agreement between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the Framework for Security Cooperation (the Lombok Treaty) (2006) and the Joint Declaration on a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2018) and further strengthen our bilateral relationship.

This milestone reflects the depth of strategic trust, mutual respect, and friendship between Australia and Indonesia.  

Once implemented, the DCA will bolster our strong and robust defence cooperation by deepening dialogue, strengthening interoperability, and enhancing practical arrangements for the mutual benefit of both countries, as well as highlighting our shared commitment to working together to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region. 

Ministers agreed to finalise implementation arrangements to further streamline our defence cooperation.