Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto met with Chinese State Council member and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe in Xian city, Shaanxi province, on Friday.

Prabowo and his entourage arrived in the north-central province of China on Thursday evening and returned to Indonesia on Friday night, according to information received by ANTARA on Saturday.

Their meeting came two days after Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali on November 15–16, 2022.

During the meeting, the two defense ministers reportedly exchanged views on the Ukrainian crisis, the South China Sea, and bilateral military relations between the two countries.

According to information posted on the official website of the Chinese Defense Ministry on Saturday, Prabowo expressed the Indonesian military’s readiness to cooperate with the Chinese military in implementing the consensus reached by the two countries’ presidents.

The Indonesian military is ready to establish high-level communication and enhance pragmatic cooperation in various fields, including the exchange of visits by each other’s naval ships, and provide mutual support for the two countries’ militaries, he said.

They also agreed to conduct routine joint military exercises, which had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Wei said China and Indonesia have established new bilateral relations in accordance with the strategic directives from the two state leaders.

He also stressed that it is important for the two countries to play role in maintaining regional security and stability more significantly amid the prevailing complex situation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Source: Antara News