Commander of U.S. 7th Fleet Visits Indonesia To Boost Ties

Vice Adm. Fred Kacher, commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, met with key leaders in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 31, 2024.

During his two-day visit Kacher met with the Hon. Kamala Shirin Lakhdir, U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, as well as Adm. Muhammad Ali, chief of staff of the Indonesian Navy, and Vice Adm. Denih Hendrata, commander of the Indonesian Fleet Command, to discuss current and future cooperation between the U.S. and Indonesian navies.

Kacher’s visit to Indonesia underscored the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific both the United States and Indonesia embrace through joint exercises and leadership engagements.

"Indonesia and the US are both maritime nations, and we have been vital partners over the last 75 years.  Engagements with our Indonesian navy counterparts like those I was able to have in Jakarta remain the cornerstone of our strong bilateral defense relationship."

During this trip, discussions between the admirals were centered around building that relationship through support for a rules-based order in the maritime domain while enhancing abilities to respond to shared challenges, including short-notice at-sea engagements, humanitarian assistance/disaster response, and looking into future opportunities to operate together.

To read more, visit the 7th Fleet's website