Indonesia and Vietnam agree to upgrade strategic ties

JAKARTA: Indonesia and Vietnam agreed on Monday (Mar 10) to upgrade ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership as the Southeast Asian allies' leaders met in Jakarta to mark 70 years of diplomatic relations.

Vietnamese Communist Party general secretary To Lam held talks with President Prabowo Subianto in the Indonesian capital to boost economic and defence cooperation.

"We have agreed in our meeting that we want to enhance our relations, our cooperation. We want to upgrade our relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership," Prabowo told a news conference after their meeting.

"We truly want to strengthen and cooperate in almost all fields."

He said they agreed to boost cooperation on fisheries, the digital economy, the green economy, high-tech industries, and defence and security.

Prabowo said he would visit Vietnam soon to sign "an implementing agreement on cooperation in our economic zone", saying he hoped the Indonesian parliament would ratify the deal next month.

Prabowo visited Vietnam as president-elect in September last year as he signalled he would play a more active role on the world stage in a foreign policy shift from his predecessor, Joko Widodo, who prioritised domestic affairs.

Indonesia and Vietnam have claims to areas of the disputed South China Sea and boats from both nations have been involved in rare clashes.

Jakarta summoned Vietnam's ambassador in 2019 after it accused the Vietnamese coastguard of ramming one of its vessels to block the interception of a boat fishing illegally.

Indonesia, the world's biggest archipelago nation, wants to stop foreign vessels fishing illegally in its territory, claiming it costs its economy billions of dollars annually.

Jakarta claims the area in the southernmost reaches of the South China Sea as its exclusive economic zone and changed the area's name to the North Natuna Sea in a bid to show sovereignty.