JAKARTA: Indonesia could become the only country outside China and Pakistan to operate the Chinese J-10 fighter jets if it takes up a sales offer from Beijing, but analysts say it’s a decision that the Southeast Asian nation should weigh carefully.
They add that the deal could jeopardise Indonesia’s neutrality and credibility over the South China Sea issue, trigger an arms race in the region, and risk its airforce’s operational readiness, with one observer warning that it could serve China’s long-term strategic goals more than Indonesia’s own interests.
Earlier this month, media reports confirmed that China offered to sell its J-10 fighter jets to Jakarta, citing remarks from Deputy Defence Minister Donny Ermawan Taufanto.
The offer was reportedly made during a recent visit by Indonesian Air Force officials to China.
Interests in purchasing the Chinese planes intensified after reports that a J-10 flown by Pakistan shot down multiple jets operated by India last month, including newly-acquired French-made Rafale fighter jets.
On May 30, Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin announced that Jakarta would be sending several military pilots to China “for a J-10 fighter jet training” and visiting its production facility in Chengdu.
The price may be J-10s’ biggest selling point for Indonesia, particularly as the country is imposing a number of austerity measures to finance President Prabowo Subianto’s ambitious programmes of providing free meals and affordable housing to millions of Indonesians.
But the downsides may outweigh the benefits, analysts said, arguing that a closer military alignment with China is bound to provoke mixed reactions at home and abroad.
“Indonesia really needs to tread carefully and base its decision not just on short-term gains but how the decision might affect our long-term security interests,” Khairul Fahmi of the think-tank Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS) told CNA.
China has reportedly been persuading Southeast Asia’s biggest economy to buy the jets numerous times. The latest was when the Indonesian Air Force chief of staff, Air Marshal Mohamad Tonny Harjono and other high-ranking officials visited the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai last November.
“At the airshow, (the Indonesian officials) saw the (J-10) planes and they were offered to buy them,” Donny, himself a retired air marshal, told reporters on Jun 4, as quoted by CNN Indonesia. “This is a good plane, it meets the criteria we set and the price is cheap. So why not?”
But striking such a deal with Beijing could affect Indonesia’s ties with existing military partners as the majority of them view China as a threat to their security and stability, said experts.
Beijing’s encroachment of Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea has fuelled anti-China sentiments back home.
Jakarta has been looking to modernise its ageing military hardware in recent years as well as diversify its defence suppliers. In 2022, Indonesia purchased 42 Rafale jets for US$8.1 billion. The first six of these French jets are slated for delivery next year.
