New UK-Indonesia pact targets maritime security and sustainability

The United Kingdom (UK) and Indonesia have put pen to paper on a ‘historic’ £4 billion (approximately $5.2 billion) deal aiming to strengthen maritime resilience and security in both nations.

The agreement, officially announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the recent G20 Summit, is said to underscore the UK’s and Indonesia’s “shared commitment to stability and prosperity” in the Indo-Pacific as well as to upholding freedom of navigation and supporting a rules-based international order.

The partnership is part of the broader strategic partnership that the Prime Minister and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto committed to in November last year.

As highlighted by the Prime Minister’s office, the new Maritime Partnership Programme (MPP), to be led by Babcock, is envisioned to help bolster Indonesia’s shipbuilding capacity and expertise whilst supporting around 1,000 jobs in the United Kingdom, largely at Babcock’s Rosyth shipyard, with further roles at the company’s Bristol site and Devonport dockyard.

To be precise, the MPP will see the two countries jointly create maritime capability for Indonesia’s navy and the building of more than one thousand vessels for its fishing fleets as a means