By Ryan Louis Mantilla

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will leave Indonesia with four signed economic, cultural, and defense agreements.

On Monday, Marcos and Indonesian President Joko Widodo sealed several agreements between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Philippines. In addition, they delivered joint statements during the former's state visit to the country. 

The agreements include the Plan of Action between Indonesia and the Philippines from 2022 to 2027; the Memorandum of Understanding; the Agreement on Cooperative Activities in the Field of Defense and Security; and the Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in the Development and Promotion of Creative Economy.

Their negotiations also cover the Philippines' intention to buy air and maritime assets from Indonesia, specifically aircraft and landing platform dock vessels.

"In the field of defense and security, we encouraged strengthening cooperation and safety and security of waters in border areas," Widodo said in a joint statement. 

Further, Marcos mentioned that he and Widodo, who will lead Indonesia's chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year, spoke "at length" about the two countries' roles as they confront the challenges in geopolitics in the rest of the world.

"We agreed that ASEAN is going to be the lead agent in the changes that we would like to see in continuing to bring peace to our countries," said Marcos.

Marcos, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to Indonesia for its assistance and involvement in the infrastructure programs of his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte. He also thanked Indonesia for enhancing the close relationship between the two countries.

Marcos also disclosed that he and Widodo agreed to establish task forces to examine how to strengthen their ties on a technical level. 

"The President [Widodo] and I, have agreed to organize task forces already to meet and discuss even at a technical level, no longer at the political or the diplomatic level, but at a technical level, so as to be able to take a full advantage of the opportunities that we feel that are available to us, and that we will need to exploit to succeed in the near future," Marcos said in a joint statement.

The Indonesian leader said that trade was also a key topic of conversation between Marcos and Widodo: "Compared to last year, trade between Indonesia and [the] Philippines increased by almost 50%. Indonesia, in particular, encouraged the increase of export of food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, coconut, and seaweed products."

Marcos's closing speech in the joint statement stated that Indonesia was a "proper choice" for his first state visit. "I believe that this is only the beginning of many more things to come between Indonesia and the Philippines."