Drones and undersea cables draw Indonesia and Australia closer

Indonesia and Australia are quietly building a more high-tech kind of neighbourly security, using drones and protecting the cables under the sea. The two countries share about 3,000 kilometres of sea border, one of the longest in the world. Writing for the Lowy Institute, Aristyo Rizka Darmawan describes how their new Maritime Dialogue, started by President Prabowo and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, is turning toward technology.

The cooperation is practical. In April 2026, the Australian Border Force visited the headquarters of BAKAMLA, Indonesia's coast guard, to talk about drone range and how to link their monitoring systems. Indonesia is also looking at unmanned underwater vehicles, or UUVs, which are robot submarines that can watch large areas of sea with few crewed ships and even spot foreign ones. The author notes that Chinese underwater drones have reportedly been found by Indonesian fishing communities after the devices broke down.

Another shared worry is the cables that run along the seabed and carry internet and phone traffic between countries. After a 2025 blackout in Bali that was blamed on cable sabotage, both sides are paying more attention. A key line, the Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore cable, links the two countries, and an Indonesian team visited an Australian centre on cable safety in March 2026. Step by step, the article says, drones and cables are becoming a central part of how the two neighbours protect their waters together.

Why it matters

For Indonesia, closer work with Australia can help guard vast, hard-to-patrol waters and the cables that keep the country online, both of which matter for daily life and the economy. It also shows Indonesia building security ties with a neighbour while big powers compete nearby. Watch whether these talks lead to real shared equipment and rules, or stay mostly meetings.