Indonesia-UAE Defense Cooperation Prospects

NO MBZ which is an acronym Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed is very familiar to motorists who pass through the elevated toll road that stretches from the Jakarta-Cikampek area. The name of the crown prince of Abu Dhabi is attached to the 36.84 km long road, and is the gateway for people’s mobility on land, from East Java to West Java with the destination of Jakarta.

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Naming of MBZ Overpass Toll Road given President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on December 12 2019 replaced the name of the Jakarta-Cikampek II Elevated Toll Road as a form of tribute to United Arab Emirates (UAE) which has had diplomatic relations with Indonesia for 45 years.

In addition to the elevated toll road, the name MBZ in Indonesia is also synonymous with a magnificent, luxurious and beautiful mosque located in the city of Solo, namely the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The mosque, a gift from the Prince, which is a replica of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi, was inaugurated by President Jokowi and MBZ in January 2022. Now, the mosque, the pride of Solo residents, has become a popular religious tourism destination.

The existence of the toll road and the MBZ mosque is certainly an indicator of the extent of the relationship between the two countries. The two buildings can be called monuments that mark the strength of the relationship built by Indonesia and the EU, namely not only from the side timeline historical diplomatic relations but also in terms of quality and high trust between each party.

The Indonesia-UAE friendship monument was also erected in Abu Dhabi. Its form is in the form of the name of President Joko Widodo Street which was inaugurated by Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member and chairman Abu Dhabi Executive Office. As quoted website menlu.go.id, the name of the street reflects the close relationship between Indonesia and UJEA, as well as a form of respect for President Jokowi for advancing relations between the two countries during his tenure as head of state.

Most recently, the bilateral relations between Indonesia and the UAE have become stronger with the ratification of the defense cooperation between the two countries. The ratification has been finalized by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Deputy Defense Minister Lt. Gen. (ret.) M. Herindra with Commission I of the DPR in a Hearing Meeting (RDP) held on Wednesday (19/06), at the DPR RI Building, Senayan.

Based on Retno Marsudi’s statement, defense cooperation with the UAE is aimed at developing joint production of the defense industry of both countries, such as the production of ammunition and rifle components. In detail, the agreement includes the exchange of information, defense industry, and capacity building. Defense cooperation is certainly one manifestation of various fields of cooperation in relations between countries.

However, it is understood that defense cooperation is the most important point of the entire cooperation, because it contains a high level of trust in the friendship that has been built. In the context of Indonesia-UAE cooperation, it is interesting to examine how the cooperation was built and to what extent is the intimacy established? And in the end, how will the defense relationship run in the future?

Acceleration of Bilateral Relations

Theodore A Couloumbis and James H Wolfe in Introduction to International Relations (1986) explain that international cooperation is an international relationship in the form of interaction between citizens of one country and another country. Cooperation is built on the basis of national interest each. That way, there is a goal to be achieved. What is the goal? Generally, such cooperation is carried out to strengthen friendship, create world peace, increase economic growth, expand the workforce, increase progress in various fields, meet the needs of the country, prevent conflict, strengthen the defense sector and state security, and so on.

The areas of cooperation that are built are diverse, including bilateral cooperation such as that carried out by Indonesia with the UAE. With this country, the relationship is actually relatively new compared to many of Indonesia’s friendly countries. The reason is, diplomatic relations were only initiated in 1976 which was followed directly by the establishment of embassies in both countries.

Quoted from Wikipedia, In addition to bilateral relations, the two countries are also friends in broader cooperation, namely as fellow members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Non-Aligned Organization, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Along the way, the Indonesia-UAE relationship has been very harmonious. This fact stands out in the era of President BJ Habibie’s leadership.

However, the momentum of cooperation accelerated when President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan agreed to sign the IUAE-CEPA (Indonesia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) when they met at Al Shatie Palace, Abu Dhabi (01/07/2022).

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The cooperation agreements that were worked on included several programs, such as the protocol on cooperation in the defense industry and procurement of military equipment, and the Landing Platform Dock (LPD) Purchase Contract between PT PAL Indonesia and the UAE Navy. In the defense sector, the commitment to cooperation was realized in concrete terms. The most monumental was the purchase contract for a number of LPD (Landing Platform Dock) ships. The acquisition contract signed on July 1, 2022, was worth AED1.5 billion (USD408.32 million).

The plan is for the 163-meter multimission vessel to begin construction in 2024, and will be handed over to the UAE Navy five to six years later. The construction will involve Marakeb Technologies LLC. The local UAE company will focus on the combat management system (CMS) PT PAL and Marakeb Technologies LLC have signed a strategic partnership agreement to bind the cooperation they will carry out.

PT Pindad (Persero) also entered into a partnership with Calidus LLC in June 2022. The two defense equipment companies will jointly develop 8×8 combat vehicle products. Through this collaboration, PT Pindad expands its technological competencies, especially in the development of 8×8 combat vehicle products for desert use and ballistic resistance.

Apart from PT Pindad, Calidus LLC has the competence in technology development and manufacturing. air vehicles and also land vehicles also collaborated with PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) for joint marketing of CN235 and N219 aircraft, as well as joint development for upgrade version N219 aircraft and the Black Eagle MALE UAV. They are also working on cooperation engineering, design & flight testing work package for every product development carried out together

Previously, PT Pindad has also collaborated with Caracal from Edge Group UAE. The two corporations agreed to jointly produce various weapons, including the CAR 816 assault rifle based on AR15 to complement the weapons of Indonesian special forces. A number of components such as the barrel component are made in PT Pindad.

They also produce together with PT Pindad SM3 5.56mm machine guns for use by the UAE military and marketed in the Middle East. PT Pindad has indeed established a friendly relationship with the UAE. The strategic BUMN has become one of supplier ammunition for the country’s military. In 2017, for example, PT Pindad received a transaction to produce 100 million small-caliber ammunition.

Post-IUAE-CEPA agreement, defense cooperation, especially for joint defense equipment development, has increasingly shown its progressiveness. In May 2024, PT Pindad signed Head of Agreement (HoA) dan Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UAE defense industry company, Lahab. The cooperation was signed on 20-21 May 2024 in a series of Indonesia-UAE Business Week activities at the Ritz Carlton, Bali.