Defence Ministry Develops International-Standard Military Training Facility in Morotai

Indonesia’s Defence Ministry is developing an international-standard military training facility for the armed forces on Morotai Island, North Maluku. This was announced by Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.

During bilateral talks with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, Sjafrie explained that Morotai was used during World War II, with the island retaining defence infrastructure from that historical period.

“Those facilities still exist and we will jointly restore and jointly utilise them,” Sjafrie told media representatives following the meeting at his office in Jakarta on Thursday, 12 March 2026.

He stated that the initiative to develop the military training facility for international use came from the Indonesian government. Sjafrie believes Indonesia has the capability to create a training ground that can be used by armed forces from various nations, given the country’s adequate defence infrastructure. “There it is possible to conduct air exercises, naval exercises, and ground exercises,” said Sjafrie.

Furthermore, he highlighted Indonesia’s geographical position surrounded by neighbouring countries such as Australia and Singapore. According to Sjafrie, this situation means the country should be open to cooperation with defence agencies of neighbouring nations. “We want this nation to be open-minded,” he said.

Sjafrie noted that several countries have already surveyed the military training area planned for development in Morotai. He directly offered to invite Richard Marles representing the Australian government to visit Morotai.

“During Prabowo’s tenure as Defence Minister, an offer was also extended to Singapore,” he added.

However, Singapore has not yet accepted the offer because the distance between Singapore and Morotai is too great.

“So we have already established a military training facility for Singapore in North Kalimantan,” he said.