TURKISH CENTER  for ASIA PACIFIC STUDIES

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent official visits to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan in February 2025 were presented by the Turkish government under the banner of the Asia Anew Initiative, declared in 2019 to give greater weight to cooperation with Asian countries. Ankara's recent initiative emphasizes economic and trade cooperation, with a particular focus on the defense industry, energy, enhanced connectivity, and cultural exchanges with all Asian countries. This is part of a broader, more intensive, and systematic framework. The primary objectives during the Turkish president's visits were to deepen economic and trade relations and to foster cooperation in the defense industry. The Turkish government has asserted that these visits have yielded successful outcomes, advancing the Asia Anew Initiative. This article aims to scrutinize these claims, examining the assessments and potential shortcomings of these recent events regarding the Turkish initiative.

Cooperation in the defense industry emerged as the most critical agenda during the Turkish president's visits to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan, with a focus on joint production and technology transfers for certain Turkish products. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pledged to enhance defense cooperation with Turkey for mutual benefit. Ankara and Jakarta had previously signed a defense cooperation agreement in 2010. Under this agreement, Indonesia’s state-run arms producer Pindad and Turkey’s FNSS jointly developed the Kaplan MT/Harimau medium tank, with mass production commencing in 2020. Pindad and FNSS are also supplying new armored personnel carriers for Indonesia, with delivery expected by the end of 2026. In 2023, the two countries inked a plan of action for joint military exercises and defense industry cooperation. A new agreement to establish a drone factory in Indonesia was signed during the visit in February 2025 by Turkish Baykar and the Indonesian Republikorp. Under this agreement, Baykar will provide expertise in manufacturing, technology transfer, and training, while Republikorp will handle regulatory compliance and infrastructure development. Additionally, Turkish TAIS Shipyard started constructing two fast attack crafts for the Indonesian Navy in October 2024. Jakarta is keen to form further joint ventures with

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has expressed interest in Turkish maritime defense products for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. In June 2024, Malaysia's navy procured a second batch of three littoral mission ships (LMS) from the Turkish defense company, Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik (STM). The possibility of joint production of warships was a prominent topic of discussion during the visit.

Over the past decade, the Pakistani Ministry of Defense Production and the Turkish Secretariat of Defense Industries have bolstered their cooperation. This defense collaboration includes Turkey's upgrade of Pakistan’s AGOSTA 90B Class submarines and the commissioning of a 17,000-tonne fleet tanker—the largest warship ever built in Pakistan—produced in partnership with STM. Additionally, their defense cooperation extends to the production of four ADA-class (MILGEM) corvettes for the Pakistani Navy. Turkey has also supplied 34 T-37 aircraft, along with spare parts, to Pakistan and has agreed to purchase 52 Super Mushshak trainer aircraft. In 2023, Pakistan acquired Baykar’s Bayraktar Akıncı drones, and the recent visit pledged the provision of more advanced Turkish drone technology.

Boosting trade volume and deepening economic partnerships were also key points on the agenda during the visit. Indonesia and Turkey agreed to expedite negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to increase bilateral trade to US$10 billion soon, up from US$2.4 billion in 2024. Additionally, Ankara pledged to invest in the development of Indonesia’s new capital, Nusantara, located on Kalimantan/Borneo Island.

Malaysia and Singapore are the only ASEAN members that have signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with Turkey since 2014. During their recent meeting, Turkish and Malaysian leaders pledged to double their bilateral trade from US$5.28 billion in 2024 to US$10 billion soon. The Malaysian government also expressed its appreciation to the Turkish government for its trust in Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), which manages Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen International Airport.

In May 2023, Ankara and Islamabad signed a Preferential Trade Agreement, paving the way for greater trade integration. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced plans for Turkish firms to establish a special economic zone in Pakistan dedicated to industrial production. Progress was also made in the area of energy cooperation, with both sides agreeing on a protocol to amend the existing hydrocarbons agreement to support Pakistan’s energy transition. Turkish and Pakistani leaders have set a goal to increase the annual trade volume to US$5 billion shortly, up from US$1.5 billion in 2024

In conclusion, Ankara has emphasized the importance of its relations with Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Islamabad, and has followed up on significant bilateral economic, trade, and defense projects. It appears that Turkey's defense industry cooperation with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan has deepened, with several joint ventures underway. However, Turkey's trade volume targets of US$10 billion with Malaysia and Indonesia, and US$5 billion with Pakistan, may be challenging to achieve in the near future, considering past bilateral trade performances in sectors other than defense. Most importantly, the visits signify that Turkey has succeeded in elevating its relations with Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan to a functional strategic partnership level, enabling coordinated responses to regional and global issues.

On the other hand, despite the visits being organized under the umbrella of the Asia Anew Initiative by the Turkish government, it's challenging to discern why these three countries were chosen over others in Asia. Furthermore, the outcomes of these visits seem to emphasize bilateral relationships rather than a multilateral framework, reflecting Turkey's Asian strategy. Although there is significant potential for defense industry cooperation with Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Islamabad at the bilateral level, it's unclear whether Turkey has a regional defense concept for Asia. This ambiguity extends to Turkish trade and investments with Asian countries. This suggests that the Asia Anew Initiative is more of a rebranding of Turkish bilateral relations with Asian countries, lacking a robust multilateral and institutional framework.

 
 Dr Selçuk Çolakoğlu is the Founding Director of the Turkish Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies (APAC) in Ankara, Turkey. He also serves as an associate professor and the coordinator of the Globalisation and Development Programme at Beijing Normal — Hong Kong Baptist University (BNBU). 

 A New Chapter for the Asia Anew Initiative?

Turkey`s Deepening Partnerships with Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan

Selçuk Çolakoğlu

Turkish Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies (APAC) - May 23, 2025

Asia-Pacific Map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia%E2%80%93Pacific#/media/File:Asia_and_the_Pacific.png