Indonesia, Australia sign defence agreement

Indonesia and Australia signed a defence agreement on Thursday, focusing on military joint training, force exchanges, and addressing security threats in the Asia-Pacific region. Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, in a joint press statement with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, described the agreement as a significant historic milestone for both nations. Prabowo emphasized that the agreement is not a military pact but rather a cooperation agreement for closer partnership in the defence sector between both nations. Marles also stressed that the agreement is "an important piece of international architecture, a treaty-level agreement" but not a military alliance. The statement confirmed that the two countries will hold a joint military exercise in East Java, Indonesia, in November, marking Australia's largest military exercise conducted abroad this year. The defence agreement underscores the two countries' efforts to strengthen security ties amid rising tensio ns in the region, particularly in the South China Sea, where several states have competing sovereignty claims over disputed islands and waterways. Source: Kuwait News Agency