Indonesia and Malaysia are advancing a more structured defense partnership, highlighted by a recent forum led by their military chiefs. The event underscored the Southeast Asian nations’ maturing institutional ties and shared interests amid a shifting security landscape.
The biennial Malindo committee meeting, first convened in 2006, has evolved into a key channel for defense diplomacy and regional security dialogue. The November 2025 iteration emphasized transparency, interoperability and stability.
“These two neighboring countries must demonstrate that there is no problem that cannot be resolved if we understand transparency, implement confidence-building measures and show mutual respect,” Malaysian Armed Forces Chief Gen. Datuk Mohd Nizam Jaffar said after the meeting in Jakarta, co-chaired by Gen. Agus Subiyanto, commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.
The discussions covered coordinated border patrols, maritime and air security, joint exercises, and nontraditional threats such as smuggling, illegal fishing and cyber risks. Topics also included a proposed collaboration involving each nation’s military and national police force.
“Significant progress has primarily been seen in joint operations, joint military exercises, coordinated border patrols, and cooperation in maritime and air security,” Indonesian Defense Ministry analyst Pudji Astuti told FORUM.
Such efforts are vital to addressing transnational crime and other challenges. Increasing cross-border migration, for example, requires “more intensive and effective coordination” in strategic areas, Dr. Jelang Ramadhan of the University of Indonesia told FORUM.
The latest Malindo meeting is “a signal that Indonesia-Malaysia defense relations have entered a deeper, more structured phase and are responsive to regional challenges,” Khairul Fahmi, cofounder of Indonesia’s Institute for Security and Strategic Studies, told FORUM. He identified joint exercises, information sharing and border security as focus areas.
Mohd Nizam said the nations’ long-standing military partnership should continue to strengthen, with each force reinforcing and guiding the other. Deeper bilateral cooperation is essential for maintaining regional stability, he said.
Cooperation also bolsters the ability of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Indonesia and Malaysia are founding members, to manage traditional and nontraditional threats, according to Teuku Rezasyah, an international relations lecturer at Indonesia’s Padjadjaran University.
Through the Malindo forum, “Indonesia and Malaysia have built a high level of mutual trust, allowing them to engage in frank dialogue,” he told FORUM.
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