JAKARTA—Indonesia and Singapore have reaffirmed their commitment to deepen bilateral defence cooperation following talks between Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Singapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing in Jakarta, underscoring close security ties between the two Southeast Asian neighbours.
The meeting, held on July 14, focused on strengthening communication, coordination and cooperation on strategic defence issues amid an evolving regional security environment, according to Indonesia's Defence Ministry. Both ministers described the discussions as reflecting the longstanding defence relationship between the two countries.
The ministers also jointly launched the Indonesia–Singapore Defence Alumni (INDOSIN), also known as the PERSAHAN initiative, aimed at maintaining professional and personal ties among generations of officers from the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) who have participated in each other's military education and training programmes. The initiative is intended to strengthen people-to-people links and support long-term bilateral defence cooperation.
Singapore's Ministry of Defence said the two ministers reaffirmed their countries' commitment to work closely together, explore new areas of bilateral cooperation and continue collaboration through multilateral mechanisms, including the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM).
Chan's working visit to Indonesia from July 14 to 15 also included attendance at the Singapore Armed Forces Day Reception in Jakarta. Singapore's defence ministry said the visit underscored the strong and longstanding defence relationship between the two countries.
The latest engagements follow broader commitments announced by Indonesian and Singaporean leaders earlier this month to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, including in defence, as both governments continue to expand institutional and military-to-military ties.
