House Commission I Approves Two Defence Cooperation Bills with Turkey and Malaysia

House of Representatives Commission I officially approved two bills concerning the ratification of defence cooperation agreements between Indonesia and Turkey and Malaysia during a plenary meeting held on Wednesday (1/7). In the meeting attended by representatives from the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Law, the two bills were agreed to be brought to a plenary session for enactment. “Both bills have been approved to proceed to the next stage of discussion,” said Deputy Speaker of Commission I Dave Laksono after the meeting. He explained that the scope of cooperation regulated in the two bills is strategic in nature. With Turkey, for example, Dave stated the bill will serve as the foundation for ongoing cooperation. The cooperation will also encompass strategic dialogue, technology transfer, the development of primary weapon systems, joint military exercises, the exchange of human resources and technology, and transactions for the purchase and sale of defence equipment. “All these activities require a clear legal umbrella, and that is the essence of this ratification,” he said. Through the ratification of these two bills, Dave expressed the desire for Indonesia to have an equal standing in cooperation between nations. Indonesia, he said, must not be positioned merely as a market for other countries’ defence products. The two bills will subsequently be brought to the nearest plenary session to be enacted into law. “Once enacted, these two defence cooperation agreements will have full binding legal force and serve as the basis for the sustainable implementation of defence cooperation between the Republic of Indonesia and Turkey and Malaysia,” he said.