PM Narendra Modi’s three-nation tour: Defence, critical minerals on table at India-Indonesia meeting today
India began a three-nation diplomatic tour covering Indonesia, followed by Australia and New Zealand, with the first leg in Jakarta.
Defence cooperation and critical minerals featured as the primary agenda items at the India-Indonesia bilateral meeting, alongside maritime security and trade.
India and Indonesia advanced a defence export arrangement for BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, making Indonesia the third foreign buyer of the system after the Philippines and Vietnam.
The two countries discussed cooperation on critical minerals, with India seeking access to Indonesia's nickel reserves for its clean-energy and electric-mobility supply chains.
The visit builds on the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, elevated in 2018, and includes efforts to link India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with Indonesia's QRIS digital payment system.
India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2018)
India and Indonesia elevated bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2018, broadening cooperation beyond trade into defence, maritime security, connectivity, and the digital economy. Indonesia is a founding and leading member of ASEAN and holds particular significance in India's Act East Policy given its location astride key Indo-Pacific sea lanes.
Key Details
- The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was established during a 2018 bilateral visit, upgrading an earlier Strategic Partnership (2005).
- Indonesia is ASEAN's largest economy by GDP and population, and a G20 member.
- India's Act East Policy, launched in 2014 as the successor to the 1991 Look East Policy, prioritises deeper engagement with ASEAN states, including Indonesia, as part of India's wider Indo-Pacific strategy.
- Cooperation areas under the partnership include defence trade, training slots for Indonesian cadets at India's National Defence Academy and Defence Services Staff College, maritime security, and trade/digital integration (UPI-QRIS linkage).
The current visit operationalises the 2018 partnership framework by concluding concrete defence and critical-minerals outcomes, and extends the Act East Policy's practical reach into new domains such as digital payment interoperability.
BrahMos Missile Export to Indonesia
BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed jointly by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, capable of being launched from land, naval ships, submarines, and aircraft at speeds up to roughly three times the speed of sound (around Mach 2.8–3). Its export to Indonesia marks a significant expansion of India's defence export footprint in Southeast Asia.
Key Details
- BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited is the India-Russia joint venture (DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyeniya) that manufactures the missile.
- Indonesia becomes the third confirmed foreign buyer of BrahMos, after the Philippines (contract signed 2022, deliveries completed 2024) and Vietnam.
- Major defence exports of this kind are processed through India's defence acquisition and export framework — proposals move through the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) domestically, while exports require clearance under India's Strategic Trade Control framework and end-user agreements.
- The deal is part of India's broader push to grow defence exports, which the government has targeted at significantly higher levels through initiatives such as the Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy.
The Indonesia deal is presented as a headline defence outcome of the visit, alongside training and maritime security cooperation, reflecting India's growing profile as a defence exporter in the Indo-Pacific.
Critical Minerals and India's National Critical Mineral Mission
Critical minerals — such as nickel, lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements — are essential inputs for electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy equipment, and electronics, and India is heavily import-dependent for most of them. Indonesia holds the world's largest nickel reserves, making it strategically important for India's electric-mobility and clean-energy ambitions.
Key Details
- The Union Cabinet approved the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in January 2025, with an outlay of approximately ₹34,300 crore over seven years, to build a resilient domestic value chain for critical minerals.
- A Ministry of Mines expert committee identified 30 critical minerals for India, including nickel, lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements; 24 of these are listed in Part D of the First Schedule to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, as amended in 2023.
- Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) is the state-owned entity mandated to secure overseas critical mineral assets; it has signed agreements including one with Argentina's CAMYEN for lithium exploration (January 2024).
- Nickel is a key input for lithium-ion battery cathodes (e.g., NMC chemistry) used in electric vehicles; India has minimal domestic nickel reserves.
Talks with Indonesia on nickel access are a direct application of the National Critical Mineral Mission's strategy of securing overseas mineral supply chains, given India's near-total reliance on imports for battery-grade nickel.
- India-Indonesia relations elevated to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: 2018.
- India's Act East Policy launched: November 2014 (successor to the 1991 Look East Policy).
- Indonesia is the third foreign buyer of BrahMos, after the Philippines (2022 contract) and Vietnam.
- BrahMos top speed: approximately Mach 2.8–3 (nearly three times the speed of sound).
- National Critical Mineral Mission: approved January 2025; outlay of approximately ₹34,300 crore over seven years (FY 2024-25 to FY 2030-31).
- 30 minerals identified as critical for India; 24 listed under the MMDR Act, 1957 (as amended, 2023).
- Indonesia holds the world's largest nickel reserves; India has minimal domestic nickel supply.
- KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Ltd.) is India's nodal agency for acquiring overseas critical mineral assets.