Indonesia has finalised the deal to procure the BrahMos missile system from India. Indonesian defence ministry’s spokesperson confirmed on March 9 that his country has reached an agreement with New Delhi to acquire BrahMos missile system. The actual contract is expected to be signed in the next 2 to 3 months. . The expected value of this deal is around $450 million (Rs.3,800 crore). Jakarta will procure one missile battery in the initial phase and plans to scale up the procurement in future. With this deal Indonesia becomes the second country in Southeast Asia after the Philippines to procure the Brahmos missile system from India. The system will augment Indonesia’s coastal security.

BrahMos is the product of the joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya which was formed in 1998. BrahMos is capable of coastal defence, ground attack and anti-ship roles. It is the only supersonic cruise missile in the world that flies at three times the speed of sound, its fastest speed being between Mach 2.8 and 3.0. BrahMos has the ability to maintain this speed throughout its flight thereby allowing rapid, low-altitude, high-precision and difficult-to-intercept strikes.

There are three perspectives to the BrahMos deal. First, it steadily increases India’s footprint in Southeast Asia. In 2014, New Delhi revamped the Look East Policy of 1992 to Act East Policy. This policy was expected to focus equally on strategic aspect of India’s engagements with the Southeast Asian countries as much as the economic aspect. As India’s neighbourhood or extended neighbourhood, Southeast Asia is strategically vital for India. Malacca Strait, located in Southeast Asia, is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. About 60% of India’s sea-based trade and significant amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports pass through Malacca Strait. Through Andaman Sea, India shares maritime border with Indonesia. Andaman Sea runs up to Malacca Strait which makes security of this region an imperative for India. In the past few decades, India has increased its maritime engagements with Southeast Asian countries through ship visits and bilateral and multilateral naval exercises. The BrahMos missile deal with Indonesia is another step forward for India in its ties with Southeast Asia. Further, this deal also indirectly ensures an increase in the security arrangement in the area overlooking the Malacca Strait.

Besides, Southeast Asia or the ASEAN region is an important constituent of the wider construct of the Indo-Pacific Region. New Delhi has always maintained that its Indo-Pacific policy is ‘ASEAN-centric’. It implies that strengthening ties with the Southeast Asian countries by way of economic and strategic cooperation, will always be of primary importance for India in the Indo-Pacific Region. With Southeast Asian countries gradually becoming an export destination for India-manufactured defence equipment, New Delhi is pursuing an ASEAN-centric Indo-Pacific policy.

Second, the BrahMos missile deal with Indonesia reflects another major step in India’s rapidly increasing defence exports. In its quest to become a defence exporter, India is consciously taking steps to indigenise defence manufacturing as well. Through Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India) programme, India is pushing forward with expanding its domestic defence manufacturing base.

In 2025, India’s defence production was Rs.1,50,590 crore, a 23% increase from previous year. In the same period, India’s defence exports reached Rs.23,620 crore. Among India’s defence exports, BrahMos missile system remains the most popular defence equipment which is attracting high demand from various countries world-wide. After Indonesia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt and several Latin American countries have shown interest in procuring this missile system.

Third, by exporting a defence equipment that is a joint venture between India and Russia shows New Delhi’s balancing diplomacy amid an increasingly polarised global order. As divisions between the West and Russia continue to grow, India has shown a rare equilibrium in its dealing with the West as well as Russia. India views Southeast Asia as a subset of the Indo-Pacific Region as mentioned previously.

New Delhi’s strategy for the Indo-Pacific Region has primarily revolved around deepening engagements with countries like the United States, Japan and Australia, all of which are adversaries of Russia. While countering China remains an important strategic goal for India in the Indo-Pacific Region, India is not undermining its ties with Russia in the region where the India-West relations are strong.

The BrahMos missile system is not only an important component of India’s defence exports, it is also contributing to India’s strategic goals across the world. The deal with Indonesia will lead to strengthening of India’s engagements with Southeast Asia and thereby the Act East Policy.

Mr. Niranjan Marjani is a political analyst and researcher based in Vadodara, India.