Remarks by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Mr Teo Chee Hean at the Indonesia Defence University

SINGAPORE AND INDONESIA: PARTNERS FOR REGIONAL PEACE AND STABILITY

I am very glad to be here at UNHAN (IDU), Indonesia's new defence university, to exchange views with its faculty and students. I have heard much about the IDU and I have been following its progress from afar, and I am glad to be able to come here to meet the staff and students. Since its inauguration in Mar 2009, UNHAN has played an important role to transform Indonesia's military and defence education, with the longer term objective of developing a modern TNI military culture.

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to visit many places in Indonesia - Sumatra, KEPRI and Aceh, Java and Madura, Bali and Sulawesi, and it is a pleasure to be here with you today.

Strong and Longstanding Singapore-Indonesia Defence Relationship

As close neighbours, Singapore and Indonesia share a strong and longstanding defence relationship. This is reflected, among others, in the regular bilateral exercises between our militaries. I still have fond memories of some 36 years ago in 1974 when as a young officer, I first visited Indonesia while taking part in the first ever bilateral exercise between our two countries, Exercise Eagle. Before I left the SAF to enter politics, and even in my Ministerial roles, I have met many senior Indonesian military leaders and have maintained warm links with them.

Yesterday, Pak Purnomo and I, along with Panglima TNI and our Air Force Chiefs, attended the 30th anniversary celebrations of the bilateral air force exercise Elang Indopura in Bali. Just last week, our Army Chiefs were in Bandung for our 22-year-old bilateral infantry exercise Safkar Indopura. The fact that we have been exercising together, both in Indonesia and in Singapore, for so many decades and share such warm, friendly and cooperative relations is an achievement both countries can be proud of.

Apart from our regular cycle of bilateral exercises, both defence establishments also share a full calendar of visits, and other cooperative initiatives. Panglima TNI and the Chief of Defence Force of Singapore chaired together a Chief of Armed Forces meeting in which they discussed the program of activities for next year and reviewed the activities that have been conducted in the past year. Our bilateral defence cooperation has kept both our countries safer, built interoperability, and forged personal friendships. A good example is the Indonesia-Singapore Coordinated Patrols, which have expanded information exchange to the point where now we have exchanged information electronically. Our interactions and exchanges also provide both sides with professional operational benefits. Our SAF Commandos train alongside KOPASSUS in an annual Special Forces exercise. In previous years, we have managed to operate together to carry out some missions to safeguard the lives of Indonesian and foreign citizens in Indonesia. RSAF officers undergo C-130 simulator training in Indonesia, while TNI-AU officers train on our F-5, Super Puma, EC-120 helicopter and G-tolerance simulators in Singapore. I know that in Singapore, somewhere between 50 and 70 pilots come every year for this kind of simulator training.

For over 40 years now, our SAF officers attend the SESKOs, while TNI officers attend the Singapore Command and Staff College. Many SAF leaders also have an enduring connection to Indonesia, such as our Chief of Army, who had spent some time in Indonesia as our Army Attaché, and our Chief of Defence Force, who studied at SESKO-AD.

The strong familiarity between both sides and the close personal ties, have allowed the SAF and TNI to work well together in times of emergency and need. Singaporeans will not forget how the TNI provided valuable assistance to Singapore in the search and rescue operations, following the Silkair MI-185 crash in Palembang in 1997. The SAF and the TNI have also worked closely together in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, such as the relief efforts in Aceh following the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004, Yogyakarta in 2006 and the Padang earthquake in 2009.

The SAF recognises the important role the TNI plays in upholding Pancasila, and as the ultimate defender of Indonesia's unity and territorial integrity. Indonesia's political and economic transformation over the past decade has been underpinned by the significant changes in the TNI's national role and its support of Indonesia's transformation.

Our very good bilateral defence relationship should not, however, be taken for granted. As in any relationship, both sides need to invest effort to ensure that the relationship continues to be strong and positive. We need to continue to develop the personal links between our senior officers, and more importantly to develop new opportunities for the SAF and TNI to work together for mutual benefit. Over yesterday and today, I discussed with Dr Purnomo as well as with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono how important it is for young officers to grow up together, by attending courses and taking part in exercises together, so that when they rise to more senior positions, they will already have known each other for many years, and we will continue to find the opportunity to do so.

Good Bilateral Relations

For over 40 years, these strong military-to-military ties have provided a stable foundation for good overall bilateral relations between our two countries. Singapore-Indonesia cooperation has expanded and deepened over the years. Today, both countries cooperate in a wide range of areas including education, economic interactions, trade and investments, and tourism. In 2009, Singapore was the top source of investments into Indonesia, accounting for almost 40 trillion rupiah of investment. We are significant trading partners, and our economies are benefiting from each other's growth. We have also worked closely in developing the Special Economic Zones in Batam, Bintan and Karimun, and there is good collaboration between our universities, primary and secondary schools. There are new areas of collaboration in environment and health cooperation.

This broad-based relationship is underpinned by shared bilateral and regional interests, and based on the principles of respect and mutually beneficial cooperation. The understanding and trust built up over the years have also allowed us to amicably resolve issues such as the delimitation of the sea boundary in the western area of the Singapore Straits. In March last year, our Foreign Ministers signed this boundary treaty, which was ratified this August. The cooperative spirit built up between Singapore and Indonesia over the years, through our many interactions and joint initiatives, has served us well, and is even more important in today's complex geopolitical and security environment.

At the senior level of our relationship is the very warm personal links between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Our two leaders meet frequently, and exchange views about bilateral and regional developments. Earlier this year, they met in a Retreat in Singapore and agreed to boost the bilateral relationship with the establishment of six Economic Working Groups and a Counter-Terrorism Working Group. I had the opportunity to reiterate the close bilateral relationship when I called on President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Bali yesterday and Vice President Boediono in Jakarta this morning.

Shifting Geopolitical Landscape and Multilateral Cooperation

As close neighbours, Singapore and Indonesia share similar geostrategic and security challenges. We are at the heart of the Asia-Pacific. Our region which is the fastest growing in the world, offers tremendous opportunities in the 21st Century. However, the geo-political landscape in the Asia-Pacific is in a state of flux as Asian powers like China and India rise. Will these rising powers work cooperatively with existing powers and other countries in the region in this transition, or will there be a contest for regional dominance? Traditional flashpoints such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula also remain. Adding a further degree of complexity are security challenges such as maritime security and nuclear weapons proliferation, and non-traditional security challenges such as terrorism and natural disasters.

The key question on everyone's minds is how the US-China relationship will play out. This relationship is interdependent and likely to continue to display elements of competition and cooperation, even as both sides recognise that good relations are in their long-term interest. Domestic pressures in both countries will also continue to complicate the relationship. A leadership transition in China is projected for 2012-2013, and there will be a presidential election in the US in 2012. Both sides cannot afford to appear weak on core issues or to be giving in on matters that affect domestic support. High unemployment in the US and the continuing need to make significant economic reforms in China will make it more difficult for both sides to advance the agenda for more open trade, and may encourage protectionist tendencies.

With its strategic sea lanes and rich natural resources, Southeast Asia is a region where key interests of the US and China intersect, and where any potential competition or tensions between the two could unfold. There is also a positive agenda. China is working hard to build up its relationship with Southeast Asian countries, and to manage areas where it has differences such as over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea. China is ASEAN's most active dialogue partner, and the largest trading partner of many ASEAN countries. In parallel, the US is stepping up its linkages with Southeast Asia. This is demonstrated by the recent high level visits to the region by President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and Secretary of Defence Gates. The US is advancing its regional free trade agenda through the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (or TPP), APEC and other avenues. These are welcome developments for Southeast Asia, which can play a role in fostering stable and constructive relations between these two powers and our region.

Given today's uncertain environment, countries need to come together to build trust and confidence, and cooperate. All of us want to find ways to create a safe and peaceful environment conducive for economic growth and prosperity. With goodwill and a common purpose among countries, we have been able to find creative ways to cooperate including in areas of regional security. In maritime security, for example, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand engage in combined air and coordinated sea patrols in the Malacca Strait Patrols.

ASEAN and a Robust Regional Security Architecture

Such efforts to pursue multinational responses to the complex challenges of today, can be facilitated by a robust regional security architecture that brings the key stakeholders together to tackle the challenges facing the region. Singapore and Indonesia have worked together for many years to build such an open and inclusive regional architecture, which has ASEAN at its core.

In a region that once faced a real threat of being pulled apart by the Cold War, ASEAN has been a beacon for stability and growth for over 40 years. A key milestone was when Cambodia, joined ASEAN in 1999, bringing together under one roof all ten Southeast Asian countries. A stable and united ASEAN has allowed Southeast Asian countries to pursue development and growth, and to gradually and steadily build a peaceful, stable and cooperative region.

ASEAN has also shown a remarkable ability to adapt and remain relevant. The ASEAN Leaders resolved in 2003 to establish an ASEAN Community comprising three pillars - the ASEAN Political-Security Community, the Economic Community, and the Socio-Cultural Community. ASEAN countries signed the ASEAN Charter in 2007, which established a legal and institutional framework for ASEAN, boosting efforts to realise the ASEAN Community by 2015.

ASEAN is also investing significant effort into evolving the regional security architecture to take into account the changing needs of the region. We started with the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in the 1990s, and this still remains relevant for our regional security interactions. ASEAN Leaders recently decided to expand the East Asia Summit, which will now bring together the leaders of the ten ASEAN countries and eight key partner countries. ASEAN also established the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus or ADMM-Plus, which has formally brought together the defence ministers of these same 18 countries for the first time. The inaugural ADMM-Plus meeting, held in Hanoi on 12 October this year, was a milestone in the history of ASEAN, coming only four years after the ADMM had been established. The ADMM-Plus has the potential to go beyond dialogue, to build cooperation in a concrete and practical manner through the five Expert Working Groups being established.

ASEAN has been able to play this role as the fulcrum of the regional security architecture for a number of reasons. ASEAN is neutral and consultative, allowing it to facilitate dialogue and foster cooperation between the key players in the region. But ASEAN's centrality cannot be taken for granted. And as two of the founding members of ASEAN, Singapore and Indonesia have a responsibility to ensure that ASEAN remains firmly in the driving seat of the regional architecture. This will ensure that we as ASEAN can set the agenda, whether it's security, economic or socio-political, for our region and for ourselves, rather than having that agenda set for us by people outside the region.

Indonesia's Role in the Regional Security Architecture

Indonesia has an especially important role to play in the region. A member of the G-20, Indonesia has done well in weathering the global economic downturn. There is strong investor confidence, reinforced by positive growth rates projected at 6 - 8 %, which approach those of China and India. Indonesia has also played leadership roles in other areas, such as hosting the 2007 UN Conference on Climate Change.

Indonesia has a critical role in ASEAN, as the largest country in Southeast Asia - in terms of its land and sea territory, its population, and the size of its economy. It is widely recognised and appreciated that Indonesia has worked with its ASEAN partners on shaping the future of the region. The Indonesian values of musyawarah and mufakat have entered the ASEAN lexicon. A united, prosperous and economically vibrant Indonesia is good not only for Indonesia and Indonesians, but also for ASEAN and Singapore. At the same time, a strong ASEAN that is able to galvanise the region and its extra-regional partners in dealing with the serious challenges before us, can only be good for all ASEAN countries including Indonesia and Singapore. Indonesia is set to take on the chairmanship of ASEAN and EAS in 2011, including ASEAN-related meetings such as the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting.

Singapore and Indonesia: Cooperating for regional security

I am confident that Indonesia's Chairmanship will contribute to a more stable, resilient and prosperous ASEAN. Indonesia's leadership on many ASEAN initiatives over the years has been beneficial for the region. For example, it was under Indonesia's Chairmanship in 2003 that the ASEAN Leaders signed the Second Bali Concord that established the ASEAN Community.

Singapore looks forward to working together with Indonesia to advance the ASEAN agenda during its Chairmanship. On the defence front, the SAF and the TNI are co-hosting an ASEAN Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise next year, which will strengthen practical cooperation between the ASEAN armed forces in HADR. Within the newly established ADMM-Plus, Singapore also wants to work with Indonesia and our other partners to explore how to facilitate exchanges, joint training and exercises among the militaries in the five areas of cooperation, namely maritime security, military medicine, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping operations as well as HADR.

Conclusion

As a long-standing friend and partner, Singapore wants to see a united and prosperous Indonesia, playing a key role in ASEAN and beyond. We share strong bilateral ties, in particular strong defence and military-to-military ties, built up on the basis of mutual trust and confidence over many years. We look forward to working together with Indonesia, bilaterally and in ASEAN and other multi-lateral fora, to build a robust regional architecture for the benefit of both our peoples.

Thank you. I now look forward to hearing your views.