JAKARTA, April 15 — Indonesia’s foreign ministry said today that an overflight proposal put forward by the United States was now being considered, but the government had no policy granting unrestricted access to its airspace to any foreign party.
Reuters reported yesterday that Indonesia’s foreign ministry had warned the defence ministry in a letter that an American proposal to give the US military “blanket” permission to fly over Indonesian territory risked entangling Jakarta in potential South China Sea conflicts.
Yvonne Mewengkang, a foreign ministry spokesperson, told Reuters on Wednesday that the proposal is still under internal consideration and that intra-ministerial coordination “is a common and necessary part of the policy making process.”
“Any form of cooperation, including with the United States, remains firmly under Indonesia’s sovereignty and is subject to applicable national mechanisms and procedures,” she said.
Yvonne said the government will ensure any policies adopted do not create adverse implications for regional stability, adding that overflight arrangements do not constitute a “central part” of Indonesia-US defence cooperation.
In its letter to the defence ministry, the foreign ministry warned that the proposal should be treated with caution as it would allow Washington to maximise surveillance using Indonesian waters and territory.
The letter was sent days before Indonesia’s defence minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and his American counterpart Pete Hegseth signed a major defence cooperation partnership on Monday.
A number of US military aircraft had carried out surveillance operations in the South China Sea on 18 occasions between January 2024 and April 2025, the foreign ministry said in the letter.
Indonesia’s defence ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that overflight clearance was not “a pillar of cooperation agreed upon within the partnership” with the United States.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is located on the southern entry point of the South China Sea where it controls the Natuna Islands. The country is non-aligned and aims to keep close ties with both China and the United States.
China claims sovereignty over almost all the South China Sea, a waterway carrying more than US$3 trillion (RM11.8 trillion) in annual commerce, despite overlapping claims by Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. — Reuters
Date: 15 April, 2026 7:00 pm
Source: Malay Mail
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