JAKARTA, May 19 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s defence minister said on Tuesday that he had signed a letter of intent last month with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on granting U.S. military aircraft access to Indonesian airspace, but said no commitment was made.
The letter of intent signed in Washington mentioned respecting each country’s territorial integrity, the need for a mechanism if Indonesia agreed to airspace access, and respect for local laws, Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told a parliamentary hearing.
“We made not a single commitment with the U.S. on airspace. We uphold the constitution and our national interests,” Sjafrie said.
The issue of overflight access created controversy in Indonesia last month. The foreign ministry warned the defence ministry that the proposal to give the U.S. military ‘blanket’ permission to fly over Indonesian territory could risk entangling Jakarta in potential South China Sea conflicts, Reuters reported.
Sjafrie said Hegseth had made the request for the overflight access last year during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting. Hegseth had cited emergency reasons when he asked for the access, Sjafrie said without providing further details.
A request for comment was sent to the Pentagon. There was no immediate reply, and when the request was sent from Jakarta it was early morning Washington time and outside business hours.
After Hegseth and Sjafrie met in Washington last month, the Pentagon said the two countries had established a major defence cooperation partnership and listed a number of ways in which they would build defence ties.
Sjafrie said the partnership includes the modernisation of Indonesia’s military, but “it does not mention any military equipment”. He said the U.S. would help train Indonesian soldiers.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by David Stanway and John Mair)
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