Indonesia opens doors to Russian warships for first-ever joint naval exercise

Indonesian naval forces kicked-off their first joint-training with Russian warships in Java Sea near Surabaya (located east of Jakarta) on nov 4th. Four Russian vessels arrived at the drill-site just a day before the exercise began

The timing aligns with Prabowo Subiantoʼs recent moves to strengthen defense ties with Moscow. The newly-picked presidentʼs non-alignment policy lets Indonesia make friends with any nation; this approach shows in its military partnerships

The five-day exercise which runs till nov 8th aims to boost navy-to-navy relations between both countries. Denih Hendrata the Indonesian navy commander pointed out how Russian ships came from far away to do these first-time drills

This exercise is not targeted at any country and can ensure security and stability in the region

Indonesiaʼs military collaborations include:

• Annual Super Garuda Shield exercises with US since 06
• Latest drill had over 4500 personnel earlier this year
• First-ever naval exercise with Russia

Military expert Yohanes Sulaiman says this shows Indonesias wish to work with everybody. Its worth noting that Prabowo called Russia his “great friend“ during his Moscow trip last summer‚ though questions remain about his foreign-policy plans