PM Modi arrives in Jakarta as Indonesia escorts his plane with fighter jets; defence and critical minerals on agenda

Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched down in Jakarta on Sunday to a dramatic ceremonial welcome — Indonesian fighter jets escorted his aircraft as it approached the capital — marking the opening leg of an ambitious three-nation diplomatic tour that will also take him to Australia and New Zealand.

Defence cooperation and access to critical minerals are the headline items on the Indonesia agenda, reflecting the growing convergence between the two large democracies on Indo-Pacific security and economic supply chains. Critical minerals, essential for electric vehicles, electronics and defence hardware, have become a central pillar of India's resource diplomacy as it seeks to reduce dependence on China-dominated supply chains.

The fighter-jet escort, while ceremonial, carried unmistakable symbolic weight: Indonesia was signalling the importance it attaches to the partnership with India. The two countries have been expanding ties across maritime security, trade and defence manufacturing in recent years, and this visit is expected to produce fresh agreements.

From Jakarta, Modi will travel to Australia, where a uranium supply pact is reportedly in the works, before concluding the tour in New Zealand, whose Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has already publicly praised India's dynamism. The three-nation sweep reflects New Delhi's strategy of building a dense web of partnerships across the democratic Indo-Pacific as a counterweight to regional coercion.