Chief of the Australian Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, met with his counterpart Commander in Chief, Indonesian Armed Forces, General Djoko Santoso, this week in Jakarta to sign a Joint Statement on Defence Cooperation.
The Statement is an outcome of Indonesian Defence Minister Sudarsono’s visit to Australia and was agreed with the Minister for Defence, Joel Fitzgibbon, in March 2008.
Building on an already strong defense relationship, the Joint Statement reaffirms Australia and Indonesia’s commitment to taking a cooperative approach to security issues under the umbrella of the Lombok Treaty.
“Australia is committed to working with Indonesia as a partner to build a secure and peaceful region,” Houston said. “The signing of the Joint Statement demonstrates the strength of the relationship between our two countries and provides a clear direction for future cooperation.”
The Joint Statement focuses Australia’s defense engagement with Indonesia in areas of counter-terrorism, maritime security, intelligence, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and peacekeeping.
The statement also outlines activities for future defense engagement, including military training and postgraduate education, study visits and exchanges, combined exercises and maritime surveillance and patrol.