India-Indonesia Deepen Defence and Critical Minerals Ties During Modi's Jakarta Visit
Indonesia has formally expressed interest in procuring an additional BrahMos supersonic cruise missile battery from India, beyond the one agreed upon in March 2026, and is seeking favourable credit terms to support the purchase.
During a state visit to Jakarta, the focus on India's side includes securing joint ventures with Indonesian firms to establish processing facilities for critical minerals, particularly nickel, given Indonesia's dominant global position in nickel reserves and production.
India imports over 80% of its ferronickel from Indonesia, creating a strategic dependency that New Delhi is seeking to convert into a more structured partnership rather than a simple commodity trade relationship.
Multiple memorandums of understanding are planned across healthcare, pharmaceuticals, education, and space sectors as part of the broader bilateral agenda.
China currently controls approximately 75% of Indonesia's existing nickel refining capacity, making India's push for joint processing ventures a direct effort to create an alternative supply chain outside Chinese-dominated infrastructure.
BrahMos Missile System: India's Premier Defence Export
BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed as a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, with the name derived from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. The programme was formalised in 1998 and represents the most successful Indo-Russian defence collaboration. It is among the fastest operational supersonic cruise missiles in the world, flying at approximately Mach 2.8 to 3 (roughly three times the speed of sound), and can be launched from land, sea, air, and submarine platforms.
Indonesia's request for an additional battery follows the Philippines precedent, signalling growing Southeast Asian demand for Indian defence platforms. Each BrahMos export strengthens India's credentials as a defence exporter and deepens strategic ties with recipient nations.
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
The MTCR is an informal, voluntary political arrangement established in 1987 by the G7 nations to restrict the proliferation of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. It sets a threshold of 300 km range and 500 kg payload for Category I items (which face the strictest export controls). India became a full member of the MTCR in June 2016, which was a prerequisite for exporting extended-range BrahMos variants without triggering international objections.
Indonesia's request for BrahMos is enabled by India's MTCR membership, which legitimises the export of this system. The deal also advances India's Act East Policy by strengthening defence relationships with ASEAN nations.
Critical Minerals: Strategic Importance and Supply Chain Security
Critical minerals are raw materials essential to modern technologies — including electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy systems, semiconductors, and defence equipment — whose supply chains are concentrated in few countries, creating strategic vulnerabilities. Nickel, cobalt, lithium, rare earth elements, and manganese are among the most strategically significant. Indonesia holds approximately 42% of the world's known nickel reserves and is the world's largest nickel producer, making it a pivotal node in global clean energy supply chains.
India's goal of establishing joint processing ventures in Indonesia is designed to reduce dependence on Chinese-controlled supply chains while giving Indonesia a diversified investment base. It is a direct application of critical mineral diplomacy as a tool of economic security.
India's Act East Policy
India's Act East Policy, launched in 2014 as an evolution of the earlier Look East Policy (1991), aims to deepen economic, strategic, and cultural engagement with the Indo-Pacific region — particularly ASEAN nations, Japan, Australia, and South Korea. It has four pillars: connectivity, trade, culture, and security. Indonesia, as the largest ASEAN economy, is a central partner in this framework.
The BrahMos sale and critical minerals partnership together represent the security and economic dimensions of Act East Policy being pursued simultaneously — converting a diplomatic relationship into a tangible strategic partnership.
- BrahMos developed jointly by DRDO (India) and NPO Mashinostroyeniya (Russia); programme established 1998.
- BrahMos speed: Mach 2.8–3 (approximately 3 times speed of sound).
- Original range: 290 km; extended to 450 km after India joined MTCR in 2016; further variants up to 800 km+.
- First BrahMos export customer: Philippines (2022 contract; $375 million; first battery delivered April 2024).
- Indonesia holds approximately 42% of global nickel reserves.
- India imports over 80% of its ferronickel from Indonesia.
- China controls approximately 75% of Indonesia's nickel refining capacity.
- Global nickel demand projected to reach 5–6 million metric tonnes by 2040 (up from ~3 million in 2023).
- Indonesia projected to supply 44% of refined nickel globally by 2040.
- MTCR established: 1987 (G7); India joined: 2016.