US Requests Airspace Clearance, Indonesian FM Emphasises National Interests

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono has emphasised that the government will prioritise national sovereignty in addressing the United States’ request for permission for airspace transit, or blanket overflight access.

“National interests will certainly be the primary consideration,” Sugiono said at the Office of the Presidential Staff, in the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, on Wednesday (22/4/2026).

“If we are talking about overflight access, this is an intention conveyed by the American side, which will then go through a process and discussion mechanism,” Sugiono stated.

Sugiono emphasised that discussions on this matter will also prioritise national interests.

He also noted that the mechanism for considering the overflight access proposal is in Indonesia’s hands.

“The mechanism and so on is in Indonesia. And I think it’s about sovereignty,” Sugiono said.

This includes aspects of sovereignty and improving public welfare.

Furthermore, Sugiono stated that Indonesia, as a country with a tradition of free and active foreign policy.

“Yes, similar agreements, if made with other countries, there’s no problem, right? What the mechanism is like, what the implementation is like,” he said.

Therefore, he asked that this not be perceived as something that threatens Indonesia’s sovereignty.

“So don’t then perceive it as something that drags Indonesia into anything or threatens sovereignty. With the current world situation like this, Indonesia, whether it wants to or not, will be affected by whatever happens in the world,” he explained.

The issue of the blanket overflight access request emerged from a leaked secret US defence document to secure airspace transit access for US military aircraft through Indonesian airspace.

The document mentions that this follows the meeting between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and US President Donald Trump in Washington last February.