Senior staff from U.S. 7th Fleet and III Marine Expeditionary Force participated in naval staff talks with the Indonesian armed services in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 11-12.

First Admiral Yusup S.E., Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations for the Indonesian Navy, hosted Rear Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander, Amphibious Force 7th Fleet, for the talks which were held to strengthen relationships between the U.S. and Indonesian services.

"I am encouraged looking to the future, strengthening through ship visits, CARAT, RIMPAC, and platoon exchanges," said Yusuf referring to Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises and Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC). He went on to say that the talks should focus on information exchange, formal operations, exercise cooperation, and improving capacity.

Topics covered during the talks included maritime domain awareness, counter drug trafficking, counter piracy patrols, international law of the sea, information sharing, fishery encroachment, and environmental protection. Over 200 exercises, exchanges, and operations are conducted between the Indonesian and the U.S. militaries each year.

"These talks are hugely important to both our countries as we improve the interoperability of U.S. and Indonesian navies," said CDR Danielle Defant, Amphibious Force 7th Fleet operations officer. "Being able to sit down and get to know our partners, to put a face with a name, allows us to develop human connections that greatly enhance the relationships required to successfully conduct exercises and operations."

"We had excellent talks," said Cmdr. Rasyid Al Hafiz, Staff Talks coordinator for the Indonesian Navy. "Talks make it easy to cooperate."

Commander, Amphibious Force U.S. 7th Fleet, is the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force, headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility. Amphibious Force 7th Fleet is responsible for the full range of expeditionary operations from disaster relief to crisis response.


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