Indonesia and Singapore Explore Joint Military Training Area Development in Sumatra, Kalimantan

The Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of Singapore are exploring the development of military training areas in two locations in Sumatra, namely Baturaja, South Sumatra, and Siabu, Riau, as well as in West Kalimantan.

The development of training areas for joint exercises between the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) was one of the issues discussed by President Prabowo Subianto and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during the Leaders’ Retreat at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Monday.

“Under the auspices of the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA), the SAF and TNI are exploring the development of training facilities in Baturjava, West Kalimantan, and at the Air Weapons Range (AWR) Siabu,” said PM Wong during a joint statement following the meeting at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Monday.

PM Wong continued that this initiative would create mutually beneficial opportunities between the armed forces of the two nations, particularly for conducting joint training exercises, and would strengthen defence cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore.

For both Singapore and Indonesia, PM Wong noted that the close relationship between the TNI and SAF is a crucial field. Consequently, PM Wong expressed his gratitude because, since his tenure as Minister of Defence, President Prabowo has contributed to the strengthening of cooperation between the TNI and SAF.

As part of this year’s Indonesia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat, the two nations also announced the signing of a cooperation document regarding a joint update to the bilateral defence cooperation agreement. The cooperation document was presented to President Prabowo and PM Wong by Minister of Defence Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin alongside Singaporean Minister of Defence Chan Chun Sing.

In recent years, Singapore Armed Forces personnel have regularly participated in multinational training programmes as well as Indonesia-Singapore bilateral exercises held at the Baturaja Combat Training Centre (Puslatpur). Furthermore, the Indonesian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy also regularly conduct joint exercises in the border waters of the Malacca Strait.