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हिन्दी — Read in HindiSoutheast Asia and Act East
India and Southeast Asia under the Act East policy.
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India and Indonesia
Copy link to India and IndonesiaPrelims and Mains
LeadIndia and Indonesia: Act East across the Andaman SeaJuly 2026
Why in news
The Prime Minister made a state visit to Indonesia from 6 to 8 July 2026, his first bilateral visit since the two became Comprehensive Strategic Partners in 2018. The two sides reached agreements in principle on Indian missiles, renewed their maritime security pact, and agreed to develop Sabang port.
Background
- Indonesia is India's maritime neighbour: Sabang, at the tip of Sumatra, lies about 90 nautical miles from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, at the western mouth of the Malacca Strait.
- It is the largest economy of ASEAN and joined BRICS in 2025, so it sits in two of India's main groupings.
- It guards a tradition of non alignment, as India does, which shapes how far either will go in security ties.
- The Act East policy, announced in 2014, made Southeast Asia the link between India's neighbourhood and the wider Indo Pacific.
What was agreed
- Defence exports: agreements in principle for a further battery of the BrahMos cruise missile and the Astra air to air missile. With the Philippines (2022) and Vietnam (2026), this makes a Southeast Asian market for Indian missiles.
- Maritime security: the pact renewed, and an Indonesian liaison officer at the Information Fusion Centre in Gurugram.
- Sabang: to be developed for cruise tourism, ship repair and offshore energy, with financing to be settled on a timetable.
- Minerals and payments: rare earths cooperation, a stainless steel venture, local currency settlement and a cross border Quick Response (QR) payment link.
- Culture: conservation at the Prambanan temple and a Tagore and Dewantara year for the centenary of Tagore's 1927 visit.
India's stakes
- Watching the Malacca approaches, through which much of China's trade passes, from both sides.
- A market for defence goods, which India wants to grow to become an exporter.
- A partner in ASEAN that can keep the grouping's review of the India trade agreement moving; India's deficit with ASEAN has grown.
- A fellow member of BRICS that backed India's chairship in 2026.
The difficulty
- Sabang has been discussed since 2018 without money. Indonesia does not want a project read as a base against China.
- Trade talks under the ASEAN agreement have dragged on.
- Missile sales depend on contracts yet to be signed.
The way forward
- Finance Sabang through a joint venture with commercial uses first, so that it is not seen as military.
- Sign the missile contracts and set up servicing in Indonesia.
- Finish the review of the ASEAN trade agreement, since the deficit erodes support for Act East at home.
Prelims facts
- Sabang is at the northern tip of Sumatra, near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Indonesia joined BRICS in 2025 and is the largest economy in ASEAN.
- 2026 is the ASEAN and India Year of Maritime Cooperation.
- Indonesia's Biak ground station supports the Gaganyaan mission.
- The Bintang Adipurna is Indonesia's highest honour.
Indonesia is India's maritime neighbour: Sabang, at the tip of Sumatra, lies about 90 nautical miles from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, at the western mouth of the Malacca Strait.
What changed
7 Jul 2026LeadIndia and Indonesia: Act East across the Andaman Sea
See also: BrahMos exports
Also filed elsewhere
- BrahMos exports · on Defence indigenisation and exports
BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile made by a joint venture of DRDO and a Russian partner, so each export needs agreement on both sides; the Philippines was the first customer.