days after a joint navy drill that Taiwan condemned as a "provocation." Indonesia's foreign minister, Sugiono, described the talks as "an important milestone" in bilateral relations, calling them a forward-looking strategic platform guiding the partnership across political, economic, maritime, people-to-people and security pillars. Indonesia maintains a "free and active" neutral foreign policy, balancing Beijing and Washington. The two countries drew Taiwan's criticism this month with a joint naval exercise off the island's east coast. Indonesia and China said it was merely a "passing exercise," with an Indonesian frigate heading home from Vladivostok. Taiwan branded it a "military provocation." At the meeting, China's Wang Yi stressed the importance of increasing strategic communication and coordination as representatives of the Global South, warning that "unilateralism and hegemonism" have dealt a heavy blow to the world and the global development agenda. The ministers launched the inaugural "China-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Dialogue Mechanism" aimed at aligning development strategies. Wang was joined by Defence Minister Dong Jun, and Indonesia's defence minister, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, said the countries would cooperate on "missiles, rockets, and so on," with China transferring technology to build factories together in Indonesia. They also plan another exercise this year under Heping Garuda, a recurring drill focused on humanitarian aid and disaster relief. Indonesia joined the BRICS bloc last year, but President Prabowo Subianto has also signed a trade deal with US President Donald Trump. Researcher Pieter Pandie of CSIS said Jakarta still leans "much more" toward Washington than Beijing, noting the Indonesia-China security relationship remains less developed than ties with Western and Asian partners. He cautioned against reading Friday's meeting as a signal of realignment toward Beijing. (Bssnews)