Indonesia buys India's BrahMos missile as 'conflict insurance'

Indonesia has agreed to buy the BrahMos missile from India, a deal signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jakarta on 8 July. The BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile, a weapon that flies faster than sound and low over long distances to hit a precise target. It is built jointly by India and Russia. Indonesia becomes the third Southeast Asian country to buy it, after Vietnam and the Philippines.

The reason goes beyond firepower. Much of the world's trade sails through the seas around Indonesia, and Jakarta worries about being caught in the middle if bigger powers, such as the United States and China, ever clash. Analysts told the South China Morning Post that the missiles work like "conflict insurance", helping protect Indonesia's key shipping lanes from becoming collateral damage in a great-power fight. Buying from India, rather than only from Washington or Beijing, also fits Indonesia's long habit of hedging: spreading its friendships so it does not lean on any single power.

The purchase turns last week's warm Modi visit into something concrete. It deepens defence ties with India, a fast-rising economy and military power, at a time when Indonesia is trying to modernise its armed forces and guard its long maritime borders.

Why it matters

For Indonesians, stronger coastal defence is about keeping trade and fishing waters safe and staying out of other countries' wars. The deal also shows Jakarta widening its list of partners instead of relying on one giant. Watch whether more India-Indonesia agreements follow, in defence and in trade, and whether they bring jobs or technology home.