DOD and State Dept. on Indonesia's crucial role in the Indo-Pacific.

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Straddling the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Indonesia plays a crucial, if undervalued, role in maintaining global stability.

As the U.S. marks 70 years of diplomatic relations with Indonesia, key policy leaders joined Hudson Institute this week for a symposium on the countries' common goals. Here's a look at how the sovereignty of this U.S. military partner and major economy serves as a xxxxxx against authoritarian influences in the region.

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Key Quotes on U.S.-Indonesia Relations

His Excellency Mahendra Siregar, Ambassador of Indonesia to the U.S.:

"Indonesia just had the largest-ever direct presidential election in the world....We have shared values. This is where I think the two leaders and the two administration governments play a big part of that. Now people say, well, on the Indonesian side, the leader is more pragmatic. And on the U.S. side, the leader is more transactional. It's easier then. They speak the same language."

The Honorable Randall G. Schriver, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense:

"[As] Indonesia's largest military engagement partner, we derive mutual benefit from this bilateral security cooperation. The U.S. conducts more than 240 military engagements with Indonesia annually... We look forward to Indonesia participating in the ASEAN-U.S. maritime exercise in September, the first of its kind. Our strategy aligns, we believe, with the Indonesian-led ASEAN Indo-Pacific outlook."

Mark D. Clark, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southeast Asia, U.S. State Department:

"We have a special opportunity to advance a far more significant, balanced, bilateral economic and trading relationship. We should be able to increase our bilateral goods trade from the roughly $29 billion to a much larger figure, one that better reflects the size of our markets and the depth of our cooperation in other areas. The extent of our two-way economic engagement will form an important bedrock for our long-term partnership."

Lori Abele, Director, Southeast Asia, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, U.S. Department of Defense

“Respect for sovereignty, the peaceful resolution of disputes, fair, free and open trade - there is a lot of common ground to build on. The Defense Department's own priorities for ASEAN [are] building interoperability and capability among our defense and security partners. Those are things we invest in to help each country preserve their own independence, freedom of maneuver and to uphold their sovereignty."

The above remarks have been edited and condensed for clarity.

Watch the Full Symposium [[link removed]]

For more on maritime security across the Indo-Pacific, visit the pages of these Hudson scholars:

Asia-Pacific Security Chair Patrick Cronin [[link removed]]Director of the Center for American Seapower Seth Cropsey [[link removed]]Senior Fellow Arthur Herman [[link removed]]Senior Fellow Jun Isomura [[link removed]]Senior Fellow John Lee [[link removed]]Senior Vice President Lewis Libby [[link removed]]Visiting Fellow Satoru Nagao [[link removed]]

Hudson Institute [[link removed]]

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