BOGOR, Indonesia (UPDATE) — The Philippines will be buying sea and air assets from Indonesia, according to Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday after hosting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who is on a state visit here.

Manila will be buying two landing platforms and air assets from Indonesia as Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOE) participate in development programs in the Philippines, Widodo told reporters.

“For instance, the procurement project of two-landing platform dock vessels by PT PAL,” he said.

“I hope that the planned purchase of NC212i aircrafts from PT. Dirgantara can be realized,” he said.

Details of the agreement have yet to be released, but Widodo noted that this is part of the two countries’ border security agreements and mutual interest in upholding maritime laws.

In 1994, the Philippines and Indonesia signed the landmark Philippine-Indonesia Maritime Border Agreement, which peacefully settled the two countries’ overlapping claims in the Mindanao and Celebes seas.

The agreement was signed into law 20 years after negotiations began in the 90s, and took effect in August 2019.

The two Southeast Asian archipelagic countries have also entered into border crossing agreements and the regular conduct of coordinated patrols in sea borders.

Signed agreements on the two countries' plan of action, cultural cooperation, defense and security, as well as creative economy were presented to both Marcos and Widodo by members of their respective Cabinets.

“Going forward, I hope that more opportunities arise for Indonesian SOEs and private sector to support development in the Philippines,” Widodo said.

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The plan of action, which will cover the cooperative efforts between the Philippines and Indonesia from 2022 to 2027, was presented by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and his counterpart, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

Widodo also thanked Marcos for “his full support” for Indonesia’s 2023 chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

MARCOS UNDERSCORES PH-INDONESIA PARTNERSHIP IMPORTANCE

"This partnership between Indonesia and the Philippines... will be of critical importance so that we remain stable as we grow out of the pandemic economy and we work together and help each other to develop regional peace and regional development," Marcos said in a joint statement with Widodo.

He said discussions between him and Widodo have already gone as far as the technical level, beyond the political and diplomatic levels, "so as to be able to take full advantage of opportunities that we feel that are available to us and that we will need to exploit to succeed in the near future."

Marcos thanked Widodo for the Indonesian government's help in the Philippines' infrastructure projects, particularly that of his predecessor former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Indonesia for him and many other Filipinos is "not only a neighbor, not only a friend, but kin", said Marcos.

Marcos expressed gratitude to the Indonesian leader for the latter's invitation for him to visit Indonesia, saying it is only the beginning of many things to come between the two countries.

"On that basis, we spoke about the difficulties that we as members of ASEAN face after the pandemic, and this is why trade is such an important part of what we spoke and what we have agreed upon," said Marcos.

After his meeting with Widodo, Marcos is expected to have a roundtable meeting with Indonesian business leaders and will be visiting some of Jakarta's landmarks before departing Tuesday for Singapore.

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