Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry warned the Defense Ministry that a U.S. overflight proposal granting the American military “blanket” permission to fly over Indonesian territory risks entangling Jakarta in potential South China Sea conflicts.
- Foreign Ministry flagged “blanket” overflight permissions as a risk for South China Sea entanglement.
- An urgent, confidential letter was sent in early April prior to high-level talks in Washington.
- The resulting Pentagon statement on defense cooperation omitted any mention of the overflight agreement.
Concerns Over U.S. Overflight Proposal
The warning was delivered in an early-April letter marked as urgent and confidential. According to Indonesian sources, the correspondence was sent ahead of a meeting in Washington between Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth.
While the two nations reached an agreement on a defense cooperation partnership during a meeting on Monday, the subsequent Pentagon statement made no reference to overflights.
Two Indonesian sources noted that the U.S. proposal had previously been slated for signing during the Washington talks, though it was ultimately absent from the official announcement.
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