News Report: India, Australia Vow to Jointly Fight Terror, Cooperate in Aviation Security

India and Australia signed six agreements including strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation after talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who is on a four-day visit to India.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Apart from counter-terrorism cooperation, the pacts signed a deal with cooperation in civil aviation security, MoU in the field of environment, climate and wildlife, cooperation in earth observation and satellite navigation.

"I am particularly pleased that we have been able to conclude a MoU on Security and Cooperation during this visit. We also agree that strong regional institutions are necessary for peace, prosperity and a sense of balance in the region," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his statement after the signing of agreements between the two countries.

News Story: Summit pledges to build Indian Ocean a stable, well-being region

JAKARTA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Leaders and senior representatives of at the 20th summit of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on Tuesday signed the official document, dubbed the Jakarta Concord, pledging to build a stable, well-being region.

In the document entitled "Promoting Regional Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous Indian Ocean", IORA member countries pledged their commitments to build Indian Ocean into a stable, well-being region through cooperation in various sectors with several priorities need to be addressed on.

The document serves as foundations to guide 21 IORA member countries in tackling the regional and global challenges, leads to creation of improved cooperation among member countries in the future.

Priorities include promoting maritime security, trade and investment improvement, promote and develop a sustainable and accountable fishery sector, improve the management to anticipate disaster risk, strengthen cooperation on knowledge and science, encouraging tourism industry and cultural exchange, promote 'blue economy' drive and improving women's role in the economy.

Besides signing the Jakarta Concord, dignitaries also approved IORA declaration on terrorism and extremism prevention.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that the presence of representatives at the summit have expressed the eagerness of IORA member countries to seek international cooperation for the interests of each respective nation.

"Each nation should prioritize its nationalism. But nationalism would not survive without internationalism," the president said in his remarks to open the leaders' summit session here, advising on the need to establish international cooperation to address national interests.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Indonesia to host Indian Ocean Rim Association Summit

Jakarta (VNA) – The first Summit of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is scheduled to take place in Indonesia on March 7 to promote navigation cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

Director General for Asia-Pacific and African Affairs under Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Desra Percaya said the summit will stress on the implementation of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to avoid potential conflicts in the region.

The meeting is set to issue a ministerial action plan for the next four years and a declaration on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Sri Lanka, Australia reaffirm commitment to countering illegal people smuggling trade

COLOMBO, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka and Australia have agreed to further strengthen their commitment to countering the illegal people smuggling trade, a joint statement released by the Prime Minister's Office said here Wednesday.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull, have underlined the importance of continuing to counter the illegal people smuggling trade, which puts vulnerable peoples' lives at risk and enriches criminal networks.

Both leaders emphasized their pledge to detect and deter people smuggling ventures and to strengthen the close working relationship between agencies, the joint statement said.

Wickremesinghe who is currently on a four-day official visit to Australia, urged compatriots who are being held in Australian-run immigration detention centers to come home.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: ASEAN remains a focus in Indonesia’s external policy

Jakarta (VNA) – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remains a focus in Indonesia’s external policy for 2017.

At an international press conference to review the diplomacy’s operations in 2016 and announce external policy for this year held on January 10 by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasised 14 points that Indonesia will focus in this year, in which she affirmed the strengthening of Indonesia’s contribution to ASEAN, towards the maintenance of unity and the central role of ASEAN.

“This year, we will commemorate ASEAN’s 50th anniversary by pursuing the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the concrete contribution of ASEAN in the region; encouraging a more constructive role for the EAS as an ASEAN-led mechanism in safeguarding the security and stability of the region; reinforcing ASEAN unity and centrality.”

Indonesia will ensure that peace and stability in the region must be maintained. Once again, negotiation between ASEAN and China on the Code of Conduct in the East (South China) Sea will be very important, she said.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

Think Tank: Jokowi and the Indo–Pacific - two years on

Tim Willis

At the two year mark of Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s time in office, commentators have been quick to criticise the inward turn Indonesia’s foreign policy has taken under his administration. This for a President elected on a platform of ‘expanding Indonesia’s regional engagement in the Indo–Pacific’ (PDF). As President, Jokowi has shown himself to be overwhelmingly focused on a domestic archipelagic development agenda, part of his stated vision of developing Indonesia into a global maritime fulcrum (GMF). However, the gulf between rhetoric and action isn’t just a quirk of Jokowi’s leadership but rather a symptom of Jakarta’s long-standing ‘minimalist’ conception of the Indo-Pacific.

The first Indonesian policymaker to consider the strategic benefits of an Indo-Pacific outlook was Marty Natalegwa, Foreign Minister under the ‘internationalist’ President SBY. Natalegwa penned a response to the new regional construct in 2013, then being promoted by some Indo–Pacific Rim democracies (the United States, Japan, India and Australia). His proposal was for an ‘Indo–Pacific-wide treaty of friendship and cooperation,’ based on the East Asia Summit’s Bali Principles. Rather than undertaking a considerable revamp of Indonesian foreign policy, the Foreign Minister simply sought to apply his existing doctrine, that of a regional ‘dynamic equilibrium’—‘where not one country is preponderant’—to the expanded region. Marty called for an Indo–Pacific (PDF):

AUS: The fourth Indonesia-Australia Foreign and Defence Ministers 2+2 Dialogue

JOINT COMMUNIQUE

– Her Excellency Retno L.P. Marsudi, Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs*

– His Excellency Ryamizad Ryacudu, Indonesian Minister for Defence

– The Honourable Julie Bishop, MP, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs

– Senator the Honourable Marise Payne, Australian Minister for Defence

We, the Indonesian and Australian Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers met in Bali for the fourth 2+2 Dialogue on 27 October 2016. The dialogue was held in a spirit of friendship, openness and a common purpose to strengthen political and security cooperation as envisaged in the Lombok Treaty 2006.

We had a wide-ranging exchange of views on bilateral as well as regional and global issues of shared strategic concern. We also reviewed the progress of bilateral relations that has taken a better shape and grown stronger.

News Story: Indonesia opens IORA ministerial meeting in Bali

JAKARTA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi opened the 16th Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers Meeting in Bali on Thursday, expected to produce IORA Concord concept that would be brought to IORA Summit scheduled in March next year.

"Through the IORA we have the responsibility to ensure our territories remain stable and peaceful," the minister said in her remarks to open the meeting in Indonesia's Nusa Dua, Bali as quoted in a statement released by her ministry.

Indonesia holds the IORA chair from 2015 to 2017. Indonesia puts a theme of "Strengthening Maritime Cooperation in a Peaceful and Stable Indian Ocean" under its chairmanship period.

Retno underscored that the Indian Ocean now has become the driver of global growth and IORA has turned to be a most strategic organization in the region.

Read the full story at Xinhua

AUS: Third Australia-Indonesia 2+2 Dialogue

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE

Senator the Hon Marise Payne

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The Hon Julie Bishop MP

JOINT COMMUNIQUE

THIRD AUSTRALIA-INDONESIA

FOREIGN AND DEFENCE MINISTERS 2+2 DIALOGUE

1. The Australian and Indonesian Foreign and Defence Ministers held the third 2+2 Dialogue on 21 December 2015 in Sydney, Australia. They had a wide ranging discussion on bilateral, regional and global issues of common concern.

AUS: Australia-Indonesia 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial meeting

Australia will host the third Australia-Indonesia Foreign and Defence Ministers 2+2 Dialogue in Sydney on Monday 21 December.

We look forward to welcoming the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ibu Retno Marsudi, and the Minister for Defence, General (retired) Ryamizard Ryacudu, for broad-ranging discussions on strengthening our bilateral relationship.

Australia enjoys a constructive partnership with Indonesia, which is vital to our economic, strategic and security interests. We are working together to counter violent extremism, and address cyber and maritime security issues.  We co-chair the regional Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime.

Indonesia is Australia’s 12th largest trading partner and 11th largest export market. Our countries are committed to building stronger trade and investment links through the conclusion of an Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

Our discussions will also focus on deepening our longstanding cooperation through regional and global fora, including the G20, the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus and the Indian Ocean Rim Association, to promote global and regional growth and stability.

Australia and Indonesia enjoy active bilateral engagement with a range of ministerial visits taking place in both directions in recent months.

AUS DoD (Minister for Defence)

Editorial: Why Indonesia Joining the TPP Would Be a Good Thing

Image: Flickr User - The White House

By Todd Williamson

Jokowi’s intention to join the TPP, while easier said than done, is still a welcome move.

Given that Indonesia has long refrained from committing to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s announcement in late October that “Indonesia intends to join the TPP” came as a surprise to most of the world. Jokowi’s statement directly followed his trip to Washington, D.C., where he met with Barack Obama to discuss the possibility of Indonesia joining the massive Pacific Rim trade agreement.

With regional neighbors Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei already signed on to TPP, Indonesia has come to recognize that it risks falling behind as a regional power if it does not join the 12-nation trade bloc. But a declaration of intent is only the first, and easiest, step: securing the backing of the Indonesian legislature, which is necessary in order to join TPP, will be much tougher.

Indonesia belongs to all of the right geoeconomic clubs. It is a G20 member with a trillion-dollar economy, and boasts memberships in both the U.S.-led World Bank and China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. It is also currently the chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation. But throughout 2015, Indonesia found itself in the headlines for a variety of unsavory reasons: strained relations with Australia, Brazil and the Netherlands due to the execution of Indonesian citizens by firing squads; haze pollution in its peatlands that led to over 500,000 cases of severe respiratory issues; and increasing investor frustration with the country’s outdated protectionist policies which bode poorly for its growth. Indonesia was starting to look less like the largest economy in Southeast Asia and third-largest democracy in the world, and more like a country unable to pull its own weight.

With his endorsement of TPP, Jokowi has signaled that he is getting serious about attracting greater foreign investment to Indonesia’s shores and moving the country away from its nationalist economic policies. Through TPP, Indonesia’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) will have greater access to markets from as geographically close as Australia to as far as Canada, allowing them to expand capacity and create more jobs at home. In addition, TPP will put Indonesia in a single market with countries that make up a fourth of the global trade market. Tariffs on various items and industries such as agricultural products, financial services, tourism, insurance and capital transfers will be completely dissolved between TPP members.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

USA: Ambassador Atul Keshap to Head U.S. Delegation to 15th Indian Ocean Rim Association Ministerial

United States Ambassador to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of the Maldives Atul Keshap will lead the U.S. delegation to the 15th Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers meeting, held October 20-23, 2015 in Padang, Indonesia.

IORA promotes regional collaboration across the Indian Ocean rim in six key areas: maritime safety and security; trade and investment facilitation; fisheries management; disaster risk management; academic sciences and technology; and tourism and cultural exchanges. The United States has strong interest in the stability, development and security of the Indian Ocean Rim, and is working with key partners in support of collaboration, development, and dialogue across these key priorities.

US State Department

Editorial: Indonesia Defends its Foreign Policy Record under Jokowi

By Prashanth Parameswaran

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi dismisses criticism of Jakarta’s ‘narrow nationalism’ in a key speech in Washington.

Indonesia’s foreign minister staunchly defended the country’s foreign policy outlook Monday in a key speech in Washington, D.C., rejecting criticism of its narrow nationalism and stressing its important contributions regionally and globally.

Since President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo took office last November, Indonesia’s actions – including its relative neglect of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its decision to sink the fishing vessels of neighboring states to crack down on illegal fishing – had contributed to a perception among some that the country was becoming more inward-looking (See: “Is Indonesia Turning Away from ASEAN Under Jokowi?”).

But in an address to the United States-Indonesia Society (USINDO) Monday night ahead of Jokowi’s visit to Washington next month, Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi dismissed these worries of a “narrow nationalism” and a “U-turn” in Indonesian foreign policy.

“On the contrary, eleven months on, Indonesia’s engagement with the international community is even stronger. Indonesia [continues] to have rock-solid commitment and take a proactive approach to bilateral, regional as well as global affairs,” Marsudi said.

Over the past year, Marsudi argued, Indonesia has strengthened bilateral ties with countries around the world, with more than 100 bilateral meetings and dozens of working bilateral visits being conducted at the president as well as the foreign minister level.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

News Story: Indian Ocean key to China's maritime interests

The Indian Ocean is extremely important for China to secure navigation in the Strait of Malacca, one of the nation's major maritime supply routes, Zhang Manzhu and Li Yao, two Chinese experts in geopolitics, wrote in a piece for the Sina Military Network based in Beijing on Mar. 31.

With about 50 million people of Chinese ethnicity living in the nations surrounding the Indian Ocean, China's connection with the region will be closer than ever, according to the article. American strategist Robert Kaplan wrote in his book Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power that the Indian Ocean is set to become the new maritime center of the world in the 21st century.

Kaplan said about 50% of container traffic and 70% of petroleum shipments pass through the Indian Ocean. Zhang and Li noted that over 90% of China's oil products are imported from countries in the Middle East and Africa through the Indian Ocean and Strait of Malacca. China also exports its products via the same maritime routes.

Read the full story at Want China Times

Think Tank: Sea State - future frigate contenders II (23-Mar-2015)

By Amelia Long

 

<< HMAS Newcastle begins her journey home as HMAS Melbourne heads towards the Middle East Area of Operations having taken over from Newcastle as the Australian ship assigned to Operation SLIPPER. 

With ASPI’s Future Surface Fleet conference now less than a week away, Sea State this week will continue last week’s examination of design options for the future frigate fleet. We’ll also take a look at what’s happening in maritime security news—including Swedish and Japanese responses to the Australian submarine question, and some news from the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition which took place in Malaysia over the last week.

Another potential contender for the ‘MOTS/evolved MOTS’ design option is the Danish Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate.

Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates are part of a three-ship class that were developed by the Royal Danish Navy, the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization and the Odense Maritime Technology as an evolution of their older Absalon-class model. The partnering of public and private sector in the development of the design ‘significantly’ minimised program risk (PDF) and production costs—the vessels reportedly being delivered for US$325m each. The Iver Huitfeldt-class were created with stealth in mind—offering a combination of reduced ‘infrared radiation, underwater noise and magnetic signature to make the ship as invisible as possible to an enemy’. The Danish frigates represent a flexible modular design contender for SEA 5000.

Think Tank: Sea State (2-Mar-2015)

 

By Amelia Long

Submarines continue to make headlines across Australia, with the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey encouraging Australia to make a quick decision about a replacement for the Collins-class submarines. In a press briefing in Sydney on Tuesday, General Dempsey stated that:

‘Whatever choice Australia makes we would strongly encourage that the systems be compatible and interoperable with the US forces. So that we can continue to operate like we do today.’

The Australian has also released a piece outlining that the submarine choice reached the point last year where media releases stating that Australia would buy a fleet of Japanese Soryu-class derived subs were prepared, but never sent out. Moreover, while it appears that the suggestion to partner with Japan ‘came first from senior American officials’, the Australian Financial Review has reported that despite many politicians believing otherwise, the US is perfectly capable of operating closely with militaries which have differing combat systems.

Editorial: A Game Changer for China and India in Sri Lanka?

By Kabir Taneja

India may be celebrating the election result in Sri Lanka, but China is in the region for the long haul.

On January 18, a Reuters reported claimed that Sri Lanka’s now former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, had expelled the station chief of India’s intelligence agency in Colombo after accusing him of working against his government and supporting the opposition.

India denied the claim, but the report serves as an example of Rajapaksa’s thorny attitude towards New Delhi, irrespective of the face presented by public diplomacy.

The docking last September of a Chinese naval submarine in Colombo turned heads in New Delhi, just as the new government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was still getting up to speed. The event underlined the magnitude of Chinese influence in Sri Lanka under Rajapaksa, despite assurances from Beijing that the docking was a routine stopover to re-stock on supplies before heading to the Gulf of Aden to participate in anti-piracy operations.

A month later in October, the Indian government quietly launched an inter-ministerial review exercise to revisit India’s policies for the Indian Ocean. This followed on the heels of China’s proclaimed Maritime Silk Road, its growing influence around the Bay of Bengal, and the development of the Pakistani port of Gwadar, which is to be operated exclusively by Beijing. Glimpses of this exercise were seen the same month when Modi visited Myanmar, Australia and Fiji. China is the biggest foreign investor in Australia, and has liberally provided economic aid, loans and investments to Myanmar and Fiji. A few weeks later, China docked two of its submarines again in Sri Lanka. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: Indonesia - A Potential Leader in the Indian Ocean

By Awidya Santikajaya

Indonesia is well placed to play a leading role in developing a better regional architecture for the Indian Ocean.

On his recent trips to the APEC, ASEAN and G20 summits, Indonesian President Joko Widodo spoke of how he saw Indonesia’s role as a “global maritime axis.” Recognizing Indonesia’s status as the world’s largest archipelagic state and its location at the crossroads of the Indian and Pacific oceans, Widodo emphasized the importance of making Indonesia’s strategic maritime position the cornerstone of foreign policy. This new policy raises an interesting question: How will Indonesia define its position in Indian Ocean, given its role as next year’s chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

For decades the main focus of Indonesia’s diplomacy has been ASEAN and its northern region. This makes sense, particularly given close economic times between Indonesia and countries in East Asia (both Northeast and Southeast). Now, with his maritime vision, Widodo intends to expand Indonesia’s active diplomatic presence from merely ASEAN-centric to the broader Indo-Pacific arena.

But if it is to play an effective and constructive role, Indonesia will need to carefully understand the Indian Ocean region and be clear on what it actually could contribute. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: The Modi Doctrine for the Indo-Pacific Maritime Region

By Patrick M. Cronin and Darshana M. Baruah

India’s PM has wasted no time pursuing a new maritime doctrine in the Indian Ocean and beyond.

Only six months into his tenure, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is breathing new life into the concept of Indo-Pacific security. Indeed, it is not too early to describe the key elements of an emerging “Modi Doctrine” focused on the vigorous pursuit of political influence through greater maritime power. Acutely aware that India’s development is best advanced across the sea lanes of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the prime minister is embarking on a course of intensified engagement with other regional maritime powers.

If the Modi Doctrine persists, then about a quarter century of “looking East” is truly set to be followed by a long-term period of “acting East.” Heightened security cooperation with Japan, Australia, and the United States are three prime indicators of the new doctrine. Strengthening existing security ties with Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and deepening cooperation with islands in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean are other factors underpinning this doctrine.

Eighty-eight months ago, in August 2007, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe underscored the rising significance and linkages between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Abe told the Indian Parliament that the rising “confluence of the two seas” would draw together Asia’s two wealthiest democracies. Three months ago, while visiting Abe in Tokyo, Prime Minister Modi took steps to operationalize a “special strategic global partnership.” He talked of “vikas vaad” (peaceful development) and “vistar vaad” (expansionism) characteristics of nations in the 21st century, noting that nations engaging in vikas vaadlead to development.  In perhaps a thinly veiled reference to China’s maritime coercion he pointed out that some countries are still stuck in the “18th century” mindset, engaging in “encroachments” of other’s territory.

Burgeoning Indian-Japanese security cooperation is one reason to believe that the Look East policy is genuinely now the Act East policy. The two countries are now fully committed to the joint production of a large, four-engine amphibious aircraft, the ShinMaywa US-2. This is critical departure for both countries. For Japan, the US-2 would mark the first major sale of military hardware overseas since the end of the Second World War. In fact, Japan is reportedly mulling over a new government-financing agency to ensure that money does not hold back the implementation of its recently relaxed export guidelines. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Think Tank: Australia, India and maritime security

By Anthony Bergin

In a historic address to Parliament in Canberra, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested both countries should collaborate more on maintaining maritime security: ‘We should work together on the seas and collaborate in international forums’. Modi noted that ‘the oceans are our lifelines. But, we worry about its access and security in our part of the world more than ever before’.

He’s spot on: the importance of the Indian Ocean can’t be over-emphasised. Over 55,000 ships transit through the Indian Ocean every year transporting oil, consumer goods and food, reflecting the dependence of nations of the region and beyond on this ocean. So Modi was right to raise the maritime security challenges faced by both countries, particularly the need for protection of sea lines of communication. (These days that includes ensuring global broadband connectivity via the network of undersea cables.)

Both our naval forces are effective, and they aren’t in competition with each other. Common maritime challenges include counter piracy, maritime safety, strengthening port state control, and search and rescue. In his Canberra speech, Modi also singled out the opportunity for both countries to respond to regional disasters: that should include operational aspects between designated coordinating authorities.