Indonesia and Russia kicked off their first joint naval drills on Monday as Jakarta seeks to improve bilateral ties with Moscow. 

Indonesia, considered the region's largest economy, has maintained neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the US-China influence competition. 

However, President Prabowo Subianto, who assumed power in October, vowed to vitalize Indonesia's foreign policy, with the first step taken being a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July. 

The naval drills are expected to last five days and will take place at a naval base in Surabaya and in the Java Sea. The Indonesian navy announced last week that Russia had already sent three corvette-class warships, a medium tanker ship, a military helicopter, and a tug boat to begin the drills. 

According to analysts, the joint exercises signify a shift in Indonesia's foreign policy, after Prabowo pledged to boost the country's relations with major powers. During his visit to Kremlin, the Indonesian leader expressed his desire to strengthen Indonesian-Russian relations. 

"We consider Russia as a great friend and I would like to continue to maintain and enhance this relationship," he told Putin. 

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This is the first time Indonesia launched military drills with Russia, separately from the southeast Asian ASEAN bloc, which previously collectively held military exercises with Moscow in 2021. 

Indonesia to leave the past behind

Jakarta maintains billion-dollar trade relations with Moscow, but significant arms imports, have slowed in recent years following Crimea's integration into the Russian Federation in 2014 and the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022.

Nevertheless, since taking office as defense minister in 2019, Prabowo has continued to pursue a $1.1 billion deal for Russian fighter jets that was established a year earlier, despite concerns over potential US sanctions.

In 2021, Indonesian air force chief Fadjar Prasetyo announced that an agreement to buy Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia was canceled by Indonesia, which decided to purchase US-made F-15s and French Rafales instead.

Regarding the Sukhoi Su-35, Fadjar told reporters that "with a heavy heart, yes, we have abandoned that plan. We can’t just keep talking about it."

The Russian ambassador to Indonesia, Lyudmila Vorobieva, indicated there was still a chance the Sukhoi purchase would go through.

Fadjar added that a lengthy purchase process, as well as fear of sanctions from the US, influenced Indonesia's decision to abandon the deal. Officials in the ministry of defense in Indonesia could not be reached for comment.