JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Germany and Indonesia agreed on Monday to strengthen their defense cooperation and plan a joint military exercise with other countries in the region.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius discussed the growing ties in a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Prabowo Subianto, in Jakarta.
“We talked about the possibility of having a deal about some submarines. We were talking about the two minesweepers, which are already on the way to Indonesia,” Pistorius said.
Germany and Indonesia are also planning a joint military exercise with other regional partners, but no details have been disclosed.
Both ministers attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s annual defense and security forum, where U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday criticized China’s “bullying or coercion” in the Indo-Pacific region, including tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
China’s Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu said at the conference that the U.S. has been “deceiving and exploiting” Asia-Pacific nations to advance its own self-interests to preserve “its dominant position.”