New house, new rules?

| Evan A. Laksmana | Jakarta, 24 October 2009 |

There were hardly any major surprises when Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finally announced his Cabinet line-up on Wednesday night.

Still, analysts remain puzzled by his choice of Dr Purnomo Yusgiantoro (picture), the previous Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, for the country’s top defence post.

For one thing, although he once had a brief stint as vice-governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas), Dr Yusgiantoro’s educational and professional background is mainly in the mining and energy sector.

For another, the challenges surrounding Indonesia’s defence sector are increasingly complex. They range from the decaying state of operational readiness and lack of budgetary support to the rapidly-changing regional military balance of power.

Filed under: Civil-Military Relations, Politics

Democracy and the `remilitarization’ of the TNI

| Evan A. Laksmana | Jakarta, 20 October 2009 |

Is democracy hurting Indonesia’s defense? One cannot but ponder this unspoken, yet often privately asked, question heard recently in a public discussion organized by noted military watchdog the Pro-Patria Institute.

While the forum was meant to launch the institute’s latest recommendations on national security, discussions during the Q&A session touched on the “excesses” of democracy and how it has complicated, if not undermined, the Indonesian Military’s (TNI) efforts to strengthen national defense.

They addressed, for example, how democracy had contributed to the increasing fragmentation of Indonesia, and how the media’s growing strength “hindered crucial legislations like the state secrecy bill” – not to mention the public outcries that ensue every time the Defense Ministry proposes solutions (amidst its limited budget) that include expanding territorial commands or imposing a national draft.

These lamentations are certainly not without merit. But they also underline the fact that finding equilibrium between maintaining a democratic administration and establishing national defense will never be straightforward – especially in the absence of a clear roadmap from the government while national security-related bills have been stalled.

Filed under: Civil-Military Relations, Politics

Gearing up for `three-block war’

| Evan A. Laksmana | Jakarta, 9 October 2009 |

On Oct. 5, the Indonesian Military (TNI) celebrated its 64th anniversary amid tough times. Domestically, Indonesia’s recurring natural disasters in the past five years have kept the TNI fully-occupied. A string of deadly military accidents and recurrent drops in defense budgets have also made things more difficult.

Internationally, the rise of low-intensity conflicts across the globe and rising pressure on overburdened US forces has seen a growing demand for TNI participation in international peacekeeping forces. More importantly, regional tensions still simmer beneath the surface, at a time when the military balance of power is not in our favor.

Not only we remain geo-strategically vulnerable due to our poor operational readiness, but our neighbors are several steps ahead in the development of their forces.

Filed under: Civil-Military Relations, Defense Transformation