PM Modi arrives in Indonesia to further strengthen India's Act East Policy
India's Prime Minister arrived in Jakarta on 6 July 2026, marking his first bilateral visit to Indonesia since the two countries elevated bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2018.
The visit is the first leg of a six-day Indo-Pacific tour that also includes Australia and New Zealand.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto received the visiting leader at the airport; Indonesian Air Force fighter jets escorted the aircraft on entry into Indonesian airspace.
Key focus areas of the visit include critical minerals cooperation, defence ties (including the finalisation of a BrahMos missile sale), digital infrastructure, and maritime security.
The visit is framed within India's Act East Policy, the MAHASAGAR Vision, and India's broader Indo-Pacific framework.
Act East Policy: Origins, Objectives, and Evolution
India's Look East Policy was introduced in 1991 under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, originally focused on economic liberalisation and trade engagement with Southeast Asian nations. In 2014, it was upgraded and rebranded as the Act East Policy — signalling a shift from passive orientation to active strategic engagement with the Asia-Pacific region.
Key Details
- Act East Policy was launched in November 2014, announced by Prime Minister Modi at the ASEAN–India Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.
- Operates at bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels.
- The 4C Framework: Culture, Commerce, Connectivity, and Capacity Building.
- ASEAN is the "central pillar" of India's Act East Policy.
- The policy aims to integrate India's North-Eastern states with Southeast Asian economies via connectivity corridors.
- Key institutional linkages: ASEAN–India Summit, East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
Indonesia — as the world's largest archipelagic nation and Southeast Asia's largest economy — is one of the most strategically significant partners under the Act East Policy. A bilateral visit reinforces India's active engagement with ASEAN's anchor member.
India–Indonesia Bilateral Relations and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
India and Indonesia elevated their bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2018. Indonesia is India's second-largest trading partner within ASEAN, with bilateral trade reaching USD 24.78 billion in fiscal year 2025–26. Over 130 Indian enterprises are actively invested in the Indonesian economy.
Key Details
- Indonesia: world's largest archipelagic state; fourth most populous country; member of G20 and ASEAN.
- Indonesia holds significant reserves of nickel and other critical minerals essential for energy transition technologies.
- Defence cooperation has expanded to include joint military exercises and defence industry collaboration.
- The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile — jointly developed by India's DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya — is being finalised for sale to Indonesia; this would make Indonesia one of the first countries outside India to deploy the system.
- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was the Chief Guest at India's Republic Day on 26 January 2025.
The visit deepens an already upgraded partnership, with critical minerals, BrahMos finalisation, and maritime security constituting the substantive deliverables — moving the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership from declaration to implementation.
MAHASAGAR Vision
MAHASAGAR is an acronym for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security Across the Regions. It is India's framework for fostering security, stability, and inclusive growth across the maritime domain, particularly in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific.
Key Details
- MAHASAGAR builds on India's earlier SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine, articulated in 2015.
- SAGAR was announced during PM Modi's visit to Mauritius in March 2015; it frames the Indian Ocean as a zone of shared prosperity rather than strategic competition.
- MAHASAGAR represents an expansion of SAGAR's geographic and thematic scope to the broader Indo-Pacific.
- Key dimensions: maritime domain awareness, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), blue economy cooperation, freedom of navigation.
The Indonesia visit explicitly invokes the MAHASAGAR framework, positioning the bilateral relationship within India's larger institutional architecture for Indo-Pacific maritime engagement.
India's Indo-Pacific Strategy and ASEAN Centrality
India's Indo-Pacific vision, articulated since 2018, emphasises an open, free, and rules-based Indo-Pacific — consistent with ASEAN's own Indo-Pacific Outlook (AOIP) adopted in 2019. India is a member of the Quad (with the USA, Australia, and Japan), which focuses on maritime security, critical and emerging technologies, and supply chain resilience.
Key Details
- India views ASEAN centrality as foundational to any Indo-Pacific architecture — opposing exclusionary security blocs.
- The India–ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AITIGA) in goods has been in force since 2010; a review to modernise it is ongoing.
- Key minilateral groupings: Quad, BIMSTEC, IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association).
- Indonesia is a non-Quad member but a critical partner for Quad-adjacent objectives (maritime security, supply chain diversification).
Indonesia's position as the Indo-Pacific's largest archipelagic state, straddling the Indian and Pacific Oceans, makes it structurally essential to India's Indo-Pacific strategy — the visit institutionalises this alignment.
- Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Indonesia: elevated in 2018
- Indonesia: world's largest archipelagic nation; fourth most populous country; member of G20 and ASEAN
- India–Indonesia bilateral trade (FY 2025–26): USD 24.78 billion
- Indian enterprises in Indonesia: 130+
- Look East Policy introduced: 1991 (PM Narasimha Rao)
- Act East Policy launched: November 2014 (announced at ASEAN–India Summit, Nay Pyi Taw)
- Act East Policy 4C Framework: Culture, Commerce, Connectivity, Capacity Building
- SAGAR doctrine announced: March 2015 (Mauritius visit)
- MAHASAGAR: expansion of SAGAR to broader Indo-Pacific maritime domain
- BrahMos: jointly developed by DRDO (India) and NPO Mashinostroyeniya (Russia); supersonic cruise missile
- Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto was Chief Guest at India's Republic Day: 26 January 2025