India-Indonesia relations connect two of Asia’s largest democracies and two of the world’s most populous nations, separated by a short stretch of the Andaman Sea. At its nearest point, the northern tip of Sumatra lies less than 200 kilometres from India’s Great Nicobar Island, which makes Indonesia one of India’s closest maritime neighbours even though it is rarely thought of that way. The two countries have exchanged people, religions, languages and trade goods for roughly two thousand years.
In modern times the relationship passed through a warm anti-colonial phase, a period of distance during the Cold War, and a steady revival after India adopted its Look East policy in the 1990s. Today the two states describe their ties as a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and they cooperate on maritime security, trade, energy, culture and regional diplomacy. This explainer sets out the history, the institutions and the main areas of cooperation, along with the issues on which the two sides still have work to do.
Quick Facts
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic ties | Established in 1951, after Indonesia’s independence and India’s early support for its struggle |
| Historical milestone | Indonesian president Sukarno was the chief guest at India’s first Republic Day in 1950 |
| Shared diplomacy | Bandung Asian-African Conference (1955); both were founding figures of the Non-Aligned Movement (1961) |
| Strategic Partnership | Declared in 2005 |
| Comprehensive Strategic Partnership | Announced in 2018, with a shared vision of maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific |
| Maritime boundaries | Delimited by agreements of the 1970s, with a trijunction point settled with Thailand in 1978 |
| Defence and security | Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) since 2002, Samudra Shakti naval exercise, Garuda Shakti army exercise |
| Cultural links | Ramayana traditions, Hindu-Buddhist heritage at Prambanan and Borobudur, Bali’s Hindu culture |
Ancient Maritime Links and the Spread of Indian Culture
Indian merchants, priests and scholars were sailing to the islands of the Indonesian archipelago from at least the early centuries of the Common Era. They followed the monsoon winds across the Bay of Bengal and brought with them Sanskrit, Hindu and Buddhist traditions, the idea of kingship as a sacred office, and the art of temple building. Local rulers adopted many of these ideas, adapting them to their own societies rather than being conquered.
Srivijaya, Majapahit and the great monuments
- The Srivijaya empire, based in southern Sumatra from about the seventh century, was a Buddhist maritime power that kept links with Nalanda and with Indian ports.
- The Sailendra rulers of Java built Borobudur in the ninth century, the largest Buddhist monument in the world, while the Hindu complex of Prambanan was built around the same period.
- The Majapahit empire, which reached its height in the fourteenth century, drew on Sanskrit literature and Hindu-Buddhist symbolism in its court culture.
- In 1025 CE the Chola emperor Rajendra I sent a naval expedition against Srivijaya, an unusual episode of overseas military action in Indian history, which is remembered in both countries as part of a long and complex relationship.
A lasting linguistic legacy
Many Indonesian names, institutions and words come from Sanskrit. The national airline Garuda takes its name from Vishnu’s mythical bird, the country’s military and civic bodies use Sanskrit terms, and the national motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika is in Old Javanese with Sanskrit roots. The later spread of Islam in the archipelago, in which Gujarati and South Indian Muslim traders played a part, added another layer to these connections.
Colonial Era and the Struggle for Independence
Both countries were subject to European colonial rule, the Dutch in Indonesia and the British in India, and the leaders of their independence movements watched each other closely. Indian nationalists such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Indonesian leaders such as Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta shared a belief in self-determination and in building free nations out of diverse populations.
India’s support for Indonesian independence
After the Second World War, when the Netherlands tried to reassert control over Indonesia, India became one of the strongest advocates of Indonesian independence. Nehru hosted an international conference on Indonesia in New Delhi in January 1949, which brought together representatives of many Asian and African states and demanded the withdrawal of Dutch forces. India also closed its airspace and ports to Dutch military movements.
A well-known episode of this period is the daring flight, organised by the Indian pilot and later politician Biju Patnaik in 1948, that brought the Indonesian nationalist leader Sutan Sjahrir out of Dutch-controlled territory so that he could present Indonesia’s case abroad. Indonesia has remembered this episode with gratitude and conferred honours on Patnaik.
The first Republic Day
When India became a republic on 26 January 1950, the chief guest at the first Republic Day celebrations was Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia. The invitation reflected the close feeling between the two young nations. Formal diplomatic relations followed in 1951.
Bandung, Non-Alignment and the Cold War Years
India and Indonesia were at the centre of the Asia-Africa movement of the 1950s. The Asian-African Conference held at Bandung in Indonesia in April 1955 brought together twenty-nine countries and set out principles of peaceful coexistence, respect for sovereignty and non-interference, which echoed the Panchsheel principles that India had agreed with China the previous year. The meeting is widely regarded as a foundation stone of the later Non-Aligned Movement, which Nehru and Sukarno helped to establish at Belgrade in 1961.
The years of distance
The partnership of the 1950s did not remain at the same level. During the 1960s, Indonesia’s foreign policy under Sukarno moved closer to China, and later its government under Suharto, who took power after 1965, concentrated on domestic stability, economic growth and the formation of ASEAN in 1967. Indonesia’s position on the India-Pakistan wars was sometimes more favourable to Pakistan than India would have liked, and India’s close relations with the Soviet Union and its remoteness from Southeast Asia limited the growth of ties.
Managing the sea frontier
Even in these quieter years the two countries solved a practical problem in a friendly manner. Agreements signed in 1974 and 1977 delimited the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zones between the Indian islands of the Andaman and Nicobar group and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and a trilateral agreement with Thailand in 1978 fixed the point where the three maritime boundaries meet. These treaties are often cited as a model of peaceful maritime delimitation in the region.
Look East, Act East and the Strategic Partnership
The end of the Cold War and India’s economic reforms of 1991 changed the situation. India adopted the Look East policy and became a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992, a full dialogue partner in 1996, and a summit-level partner in 2002. Indonesia, as the largest member of ASEAN and a founding leader, was a natural partner in this process.
Milestones of the 1990s and 2000s
- High-level visits resumed in the 1990s, and a Joint Commission and regular foreign ministry consultations were revived.
- The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which devastated the Indonesian province of Aceh and also struck the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, led to Indian naval relief operations and a shared sense of vulnerability.
- In 2005 the Indonesian president and the Indian prime minister signed a declaration establishing a Strategic Partnership, which covered political, defence, economic and cultural areas.
- In 2011 the Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day, echoing the honour given to Sukarno more than sixty years earlier.
The Act East policy, which India announced in 2014 as an upgrade of Look East, gave India-Indonesia relations a further push, since it placed greater emphasis on security, connectivity and integration with Southeast Asia.
The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of 2018
During the Indian prime minister’s visit to Jakarta in May 2018 the two leaders upgraded the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They also issued a Shared Vision on Maritime Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, which set out a common commitment to a free, open, transparent and rules-based regional order, respect for international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and a central role for ASEAN.
What the partnership covers
- Regular summit-level and ministerial dialogue, including foreign and defence consultations.
- Cooperation in maritime security, the blue economy, ports, fisheries and marine science.
- Trade, investment, energy and infrastructure projects.
- Defence industry, training and information sharing.
- Cultural exchanges, tourism and educational cooperation.
Connecting the Indo-Pacific visions
Indonesia’s idea of itself as a Global Maritime Fulcrum, announced by President Joko Widodo, and India’s SAGAR vision of security and growth for all in the region, later renewed as the MAHASAGAR approach, overlap naturally. Both states are also members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, in which Indonesia held the chair in the middle of the last decade, and both support the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. This convergence is one of the foundations of the current partnership.
Defence and Maritime Security Cooperation
Because the two countries share a maritime frontier, defence cooperation is largely a matter of navies and coast guards. The Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy have conducted Coordinated Patrols, called CORPAT, along the international maritime boundary line twice a year since 2002, which aim to prevent illegal fishing, smuggling, piracy and other crimes at sea. The patrols are accompanied by exchanges of information and training activities.
Exercises and agreements
- Samudra Shakti is a bilateral naval exercise that began in 2018 and has been held in alternate countries.
- Garuda Shakti is a joint exercise between the two armies, concentrating on counter-insurgency and jungle warfare.
- The two air forces and coast guards have also held exchanges and training programmes.
- Defence cooperation agreements and regular dialogues, including meetings of defence ministers, provide a structure for defence industry and training cooperation.
The Sabang port
The 2018 partnership included an understanding on the development of the port of Sabang, on Weh Island at the northern entrance to the Strait of Malacca. India was given access for its naval ships and invited to take part in the development of port and economic zone facilities. The arrangement is strategically significant because Sabang lies close to the western approaches to the Malacca Strait, one of the busiest sea lanes in the world, and relatively close to India’s Andaman and Nicobar Command at Port Blair. Indonesia has maintained that the arrangement is commercial and non-exclusive, since it also hosts partnerships with other countries.
Both countries have also discussed defence procurement, including the supersonic BrahMos missile system and other platforms, although such discussions have been gradual and subject to financing, technology and regulatory questions.
Trade, Investment and Energy
Indonesia is among India’s largest trading partners in Southeast Asia and in ASEAN, and India is one of the main destinations of Indonesian exports. Trade between the two has grown significantly since the early 2000s, although the figures change from year to year with commodity prices. The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement, in force since 2010, provides the main tariff framework, and both countries have taken part in discussions to review and upgrade it.
The main traded goods
| India imports from Indonesia | India exports to Indonesia |
|---|---|
| Thermal coal and other minerals | Refined petroleum products |
| Palm oil and related products | Sugar, rice and other foods |
| Rubber, pulp and paper | Vehicles, machinery and engineering goods |
| Chemicals and fertilisers | Pharmaceuticals, textiles and chemicals |
Investment and business
Indian companies have invested in Indonesia in coal and mining, textiles, power, steel, automobiles, banking and information technology, while Indonesian businesses have invested in India in sectors such as paper, pulp and palm oil. The two sides have also been exploring cooperation in electric vehicle supply chains, since Indonesia has large reserves of nickel, and in renewable energy and the digital economy. Indian use of Indonesian coal and palm oil makes energy and food security a shared interest.
Frictions occasionally arise from trade measures, such as Indonesian export restrictions on some commodities or Indian tariff changes on palm oil, but the two governments generally resolve these through dialogue.
Culture, Religion and People-to-People Ties
Culture is the most visible and lasting expression of India-Indonesia relations. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata have been a part of Indonesian life for more than a thousand years and are performed in Javanese and Balinese forms such as wayang kulit shadow puppetry and wayang wong dance drama. The Ramayana Ballet performed in the open-air theatre near the Prambanan temple is one of the best-known cultural performances in Southeast Asia, while the Ramakien and Kakawin versions show how the epic was adapted locally.
Bali and the Hindu heritage
Although Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, the island of Bali has a majority of Hindus whose religion, called Agama Hindu Dharma, has developed over centuries. Balinese rituals, temple architecture and festivals such as Nyepi, the day of silence, show strong links with Indian traditions. The Bali Jatra festival held in Cuttack in Odisha every year on Kartik Purnima commemorates ancient maritime trade between Kalinga and Bali.
Education, diaspora and tourism
- The Indian Cultural Centre in Jakarta, run by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, teaches yoga, dance, music and Hindi.
- The Indian community in Indonesia includes people of Tamil, Punjabi, Sindhi and Gujarati background, with notable concentrations in Medan and Jakarta, and has been present for several generations.
- Indian films and television programmes have an audience in Indonesia, and Indonesian visitors travel to India for Buddhist pilgrimage and tourism.
- The two countries offer scholarships and training under Indian cooperation programmes and Indonesian exchange schemes.
Multilateral Cooperation and Regional Roles
India and Indonesia are both members of the G20, and they held its presidency in consecutive years, Indonesia in 2022 and India in 2023, which allowed them to coordinate priorities on development finance, digital public infrastructure and the concerns of the Global South. Indonesia became a member of the BRICS grouping in 2025, which adds another forum in which the two meet regularly.
ASEAN and the East Asia Summit
India participates in the ASEAN-led East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ADMM-Plus defence ministers’ meeting, in which Indonesia has a leading voice. India’s support for ASEAN centrality is welcomed in Jakarta, since Indonesia sees ASEAN as the main guarantee of an inclusive regional order. In discussions on the South China Sea, both countries emphasise freedom of navigation and the peaceful resolution of disputes under international law, without being party to the claims.
Other shared interests
- Counter-terrorism, deradicalisation and cybersecurity, where the two have regular dialogue.
- Disaster management, drawing on lessons from the 2004 tsunami.
- Climate and sustainable development, including cooperation in the International Solar Alliance and renewable energy.
Challenges and Prospects
Although the relationship is friendly, it has not fully reached its potential. Observers on both sides point to several issues that the governments continue to address.
Persistent challenges
- Trade is large but concentrated in a handful of commodities, and the balance has tended to favour Indonesia because of its coal and palm oil exports.
- Direct air and shipping connectivity is limited compared with the proximity of the two countries, and the physical and digital links between the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Aceh are still being developed.
- Defence cooperation has moved at a measured pace because of budgets, technology transfer questions and Indonesia’s policy of balancing relations with several partners.
- Indonesia’s own diplomacy is based on a free and active policy that avoids exclusive alignments, so cooperation is not framed in terms of any bloc.
Looking ahead
The visit of the Indonesian president to India as chief guest at the Republic Day parade in 2025 was seen as a sign of continuing high-level commitment. Possible areas of growth include the blue economy, electric vehicles and critical minerals, digital payments, tourism, defence industry cooperation and the use of the Great Nicobar and Sabang gateways for trade and security. Both countries have an interest in a stable Indian Ocean and an open Indo-Pacific.
Conclusion
India-Indonesia relations draw on a shared history that includes the Ramayana, the Hindu-Buddhist monuments of Java and Bali, the solidarity of the independence years and the founding spirit of Bandung. The modern partnership adds a strategic dimension in the form of maritime security, trade and regional diplomacy. As neighbours across the Andaman Sea, the two countries have natural reasons to deepen cooperation while respecting each other’s independent foreign policies.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close are India and Indonesia geographically?
The two countries are maritime neighbours separated by the Andaman Sea. The northern tip of Sumatra in Indonesia lies less than 200 kilometres from India’s Great Nicobar Island, and their maritime boundaries were settled by agreements in the 1970s.
What is the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Indonesia?
It is the framework announced in 2018 during the Indian prime minister’s visit to Jakarta, upgrading the Strategic Partnership of 2005. It covers political dialogue, maritime security, defence, trade, energy and culture, and it came with a Shared Vision on Maritime Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
What is the significance of Bandung for India and Indonesia?
The Asian-African Conference held in Bandung in 1955 brought twenty-nine countries together and affirmed principles of peaceful coexistence and non-interference. India and Indonesia were among its leaders, and the meeting helped pave the way for the Non-Aligned Movement founded in 1961.
How do India and Indonesia cooperate on maritime security?
The two navies carry out Coordinated Patrols along their maritime boundary twice a year, which have taken place since 2002, and hold the Samudra Shakti naval exercise. In 2018 India also gained access arrangements for the port of Sabang at the northern entrance of the Malacca Strait.
What are the main items of trade between India and Indonesia?
India imports mainly coal, palm oil and other raw materials from Indonesia, while it exports refined petroleum products, sugar, vehicles, machinery, pharmaceuticals and textiles. Indonesia is one of India’s largest trading partners within ASEAN.
What cultural links exist between India and Indonesia?
The Ramayana and Mahabharata are still performed in Indonesia in forms such as wayang puppetry and ballet, and the Hindu-Buddhist monuments of Prambanan and Borobudur reflect Indian influence. Bali has a Hindu majority, and the Bali Jatra festival in Cuttack commemorates ancient trade links between Kalinga and Bali.
