Just a day before the United States and Indonesia were set to sign a major defence deal on 13 April, a classified document outlining a secret plan to grant American military jets blanket access to Indonesian airspace was leaked by an Indian media outlet.

This access would have allowed Washington to monitor the Malacca Strait, a vital trade chokepoint, especially significant given Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that has disrupted global oil supplies.

The leak caused uproar in Indonesia, and while the defence deal itself was signed, the overflight access was excluded.

The report was published on 12 April by The Sunday Guardian, a media outlet founded by former Minister of State for External Affairs of India MJ Akbar. The plan had been discussed in February during a meeting between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Donald Trump at the White House.

The agreement was scheduled to be signed during a meeting between US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, but it collapsed after the leak.

The proposed deal would have given US aircraft unrestricted access to Indonesian airspace for contingency and crisis-response missions, with surveillance and operational flexibility in the Indo-Pacific as its primary objective.

Indonesia’s strategic location near the Strait of Malacca, the busiest oil corridor in the world, made it particularly valuable. The strait handles around 30% of seaborne crude oil and 40% of global trade, making it critical to both China and India. With Hormuz vulnerable due to Iran’s assertiveness, Trump appeared intent on exerting influence over Malacca.

The leak swiftly derailed the plan. Indonesian lawmakers questioned its legality, with Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives Sukamta stressing that any defence cooperation must be consulted with Parliament.

He argued there was no legal basis for granting unrestricted access to foreign militaries. The backlash forced the Prabowo-led government to clarify that overflight access was not part of the Major Defence Cooperation Partnership signed with the US. Officials emphasised that discussions were ongoing and any draft was neither final nor binding, with sovereignty and national interests prioritised.

Indonesia’s foreign ministry had already warned against the proposal, cautioning that it risked entangling Jakarta in South China Sea conflicts. The ministry urged delaying any final deal with Washington. The leak thus became a flashpoint within the Indonesian government itself.

Speculation arose that the leak was deliberate, intended to scuttle the deal. Questions were raised about how a classified US document reached an Indian publication.

Analysts suggested larger geopolitical interests were at play. India, with its strategic assets near the Malacca Strait, would naturally be concerned about surveillance by a third country. China, which relies on the strait for 80% of its crude supplies, faced even greater stakes.

The so-called “Malacca dilemma” has long haunted Beijing, and US moves to secure influence over the corridor would have been deeply unsettling.

India’s position near the strait, with its air base at Campbell Bay and the upcoming Great Nicobar infrastructure project, gives it a crucial vantage point. For China, disruptions at Hormuz and US control over Venezuela’s oil reserves have already strained supplies, making Malacca even more critical. 

Analysts noted that the timing of the Indonesia deal, coinciding with the Hormuz blockade, was no accident. It was seen as a move to simultaneously pressure Beijing while addressing Washington’s strategic needs.

Ultimately, the leak by The Sunday Guardian appears to have dashed Trump’s hopes of securing sweeping airspace access over Indonesia.

The backlash in Jakarta has ensured the proposal remains shelved, at least for now, while igniting speculation about deliberate geopolitical manoeuvring behind its exposure.

Agencies