Oct 29, Kathmandu- Indonesia and Russia will hold their first joint military exercise next month, according to Jakarta's military on Tuesday. Indonesia, the largest economy in the region, has maintained a neutral foreign policy between the Ukraine conflict and Washington and Beijing.
However, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, promising to move forward with courage, visited Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin last July.
The Indonesian military has announced that the exercise will take place in the Java Sea near the military base in Surabaya from November 4-9. The exercise is an important bilateral exercise between the forces, the Indonesian army said in a statement.
The Russian ambassador to Indonesia, Sergey Tolchenov, confirmed the exercise and said that the exercise did not target any rival power. According to him, the exercise is only to increase the capabilities of the army.
In recent times, Indonesia has repeatedly called for a peaceful solution to Russia's aggression in Ukraine.
Indonesia started the process of becoming a member of the BRICS led by Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa last week, Foreign Minister Sugiono said.