Indonesia and Russia Forge Naval Ties in Historic Java Sea Drills

Indonesia and Russia commenced their first joint naval drills in the Java Sea, underscoring Indonesia's non-alignment foreign policy. President Prabowo Subianto seeks to foster international friendships, notably with Russia. The drills involve knowledge exchange between navies, highlighting Indonesia's openness to collaboration with various countries.

The naval forces of Indonesia and Russia kicked off their inaugural joint military drills in the Java Sea on Monday, signaling a developing partnership between the two nations. Analysts view this move as indicative of Indonesia's strategic non-alignment policy, which embraces cooperation with any global power.

Spanning from November 4th to 8th, the drills are taking place near Surabaya in the Java Sea, as confirmed by the Indonesian navy's spokesperson, I Made Wira Hady Arsanta Wardhana. The event marks not only the strengthening of defense ties between Indonesia and Russia but also aligns with newly-inaugurated President Prabowo Subianto's pledge to enhance bilateral relations.

Sergey Tolchenov, Russia's ambassador to Indonesia, hailed the exercises as a major milestone in naval cooperation. Although specifics of the exercises remain undisclosed, a Russian delegation representative highlighted the mutual exchange of naval expertise as a key component. These drills further illustrate Indonesia's intention to maintain balanced international relations without alignment to any specific bloc.

(With inputs from agencies.)