South China Sea: US defence chief backs Indonesia’s push to modernise military
- Lloyd Austin hosted Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto; they said China’s South China Sea claims are ‘not in line with international law’
- A Pentagon statement said the men shared their mutual intention to increase defence capabilities, like fighter jet upgrades and new aircraft
The meeting comes as Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, looks to upgrade its military and replace its ageing hardware, earmarking 134.3 trillion rupiah (US$8.89 billion) this year for defence, the biggest allocation in its state budget, with a similar amount for next year.
For the past decade, Indonesia’s defence spending per capita and as a percentage of gross domestic product has been the lowest among Southeast Asia’s six emerging market economies, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank.
In a statement, the Pentagon said the two countries’ defence ministers shared their mutual intention to increase defence capabilities “like fighter aircraft upgrades, new multi-role fighter aircraft, and additional fixed and rotary wing transport aircraft”.
