Indonesia Plans Purchase of Chinese Type 053H Missile Frigates Following Major J-10C Fighter Deal

The Indonesian Defence Ministry has announced that plans are currently being considered to procure seven Type 053H class frigates from China, withthe evaluation remaining at the internal review stage. The revelation closely follows statements by Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and multiple other local officials on October 16 confirming that the Defence Ministry has placed an order to procure 42 Chinese J-10C ‘4+ generation’ fighter aircraft, confirming reports that the new administration of President Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo has been positively inclined towards strengthening defence ties with the country’s northern neighbour. China and Indonesia have over the past decade formed an increasingly significant strategic partnership, with trade and cooperation in infrastructure and high tech all having expanded rapidly. These relations have been assessed by analysts to have crated favourable grounds for the formation of a defence partnership, despite significant sustained Western pressure on Jakarta to distance itself from Beijing.

Ten Type 053H frigates were launched between 1997 and 2004, with the second and third ships of the class having been sold on to the Bangladesh Navy. The vessels have benefited from a conservative mid-life upgrade in the mid-2010s, including the integration of new electronic warfare suits and radar systems built to similar standards as those on the modern Type 054 class frigates, as well as the replacement of HQ-7 short range air defence systems with the more modern HHQ-10, and the integration of modern close-in weapons systems. The small 2300 ton ships carry eight YJ-83 cruise missiles as their primary armament, which have 230 kilometre engagement ranges, although the possibility of newer missile types being integrated has been raised in the past. While the Type 053H is less capable than newer Chinese frigate classes such as the Type 054A recently sold to Pakistan, the procurement of seven of the vessels would represent a significant upgrade for the Indonesian Navy.