Indonesia, US Army Chiefs of Staff Meet in Pentagon

Jakarta (ANTARA) -  Indonesia's Army Chief of Staff General Maruli Simanjuntak met with his counterpart, General Randy A. George, in the Pentagon in Arlington Country, Virginia, early this week to discuss defense cooperation.

It was General Maruli's first meeting with the Chief of Staff of the US Army for talks on issues related to defense cooperation since being inaugurated by President Joko Widodo on November 29, 2023.

At the meeting, General Maruli exchanged views on several areas of cooperation between Indonesia and the US defense forces, according to the Indonesian Army's (TNI-AD's) press statement published here, Tuesday.

The areas of cooperation discussed at the meeting include joint military exercise, military personnel exchange programs, and knowledge exchange related to the primary weaponry defense system (Alutsista).

At the meeting, General George was quoted as saying that the United States is committed to supporting Indonesia's endeavors to strengthen its defense capability.

General Randy, who assumed duties as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army on Sept 21, 2023, expressed his high appreciation for the US Army and TNI-AD's close cooperation, according to the press statement.

The close cooperation was not only beneficial for Indonesia and the United States but it would also give significant impacts on regional stability and security as a whole, he was quoted as saying.

Regarding the Indonesia-US military trainings, Indonesian Navy soldiers from the 1st Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion (Yontaifib) and the United States Marines had recently wrapped up a series of reconnaissance and infiltration exercises under the "Reconnaissance Exchange" (Reconex) Joint Exercise 2024.

The two units underwent a series of closing exercises ranging from long-range navigation exercises to complete infiltration exercises (full mission profile) on May 8-10, 2024.

Commander of Marine Troops (Danpasmar) 1, Brigadier General Umar Farouq, emphasized that joint training between the Indonesian and the United States Marine troops would not stop at the 2024 Reconex.

During the training program, the Amphibious Reconnaissance soldiers from the two countries, for instance, practiced infiltrating enemy areas, paralyzing targets, freeing prisoners, and treating and evacuating combat victims.

The soldiers also trained in long-range navigation, a cross-surface infiltration technique using rubber boats (seariders).